THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF 

NORTH  CAROLINA 

AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


THE  COLLECTION  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINIANA 


C971.60 
T66m 
v.l 
C.2 


U  L,MAPtLMILL 


00015565782 


This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped 
below  unless  recalled  sooner.    It  may  be 
renewed  only  once  and  must  be  brought  to 
the  North  Carolina  Collection  for  renewal. 


Form  Wo.  A -36  9 


History   of  Mecklenburg    County 

AND 

The  City  of  Charlotte 

From  1740  to  1903. 


BY  D.  A.  TOMPKINS, 

Author  of  Cotton  and  Cotton   Oil;   Cotton   Mill, 
Commercial  Features  ;  Cotton  Values  in  Tex- 
tile   Fabrics;    Cotton   Mill,    PROChSSES 
and  Calculations  ;  and  American 
Commerce,    Its    Expansion. 


Charlotte,  N.  C,  1903. 


VOLUME  ONE— NARRATIVE. 


CHARLOTTE,  N.  C: 

Obsekveb  Printing  House. 

1903. 


)?•■  ■•■'■ 


Copyright,  1903, 

BY 

D.  A.  TOMPKINS. 


"All  hail  to  thee,  thou  good  olu  State, 

the  noblest  of  the  band! 
Who    raised    the    flag    of    Liberty,    in 

this  our  native  land! 
All  hail  to  thee,  thy  worthy  sons  were 

first  to  spurn  the  yoke, 
The  tyrant's  fetters  from  their  hands, 

at  Mecklenburg  they  broke." 


EXPLANATION. 


This  history  is  published  in  two  vohinies.  The  first  volume 
contains  the  simple  narrative,  and  the  second  is  in  the  nature 
of  an  appendix,  containing-  ample  discussions  of  important 
events,  a  collection  of  biographies  and  many  official  docu- 
ments justifying  and  verifying  the  statements  in  this  volume. 
At  the  end  of  each  chapter  is  given  the  sources  of  the  in- 
formation therein  contained,  and  at  the  end  of  each  volume 
is  an  index. 


INTRODUCTION. 


History  of  a  county  is  closely  associated  with  history  of 
the  State,  as  the  health  of  an  arm  is  with  the  condition  of  the 
whole  physical  structure.  An  account  of  the  life  of  a  prom- 
inent man  in  a  community  is  a  history  of  that  community  in 
the  same  way  that  the  history  of  a  representative  county  is 
a  history  of  the  commonwealth.  This  book  is  written  pri- 
marily to  preserve  Mecklenburg  history  for  the  inspiration 
of  present  and  future  generations  of  Mecklenburg  people, 
but  the  aim  extends  further  than  this  on  the  presumption  that 
this  is  a  typical  southern  county  and  hence,  by  deductive  rea- 
j  soning,  its  growth  portrays  the  effects  subsequent  to  certain 
'industrial  activities  throughout  the  South. 

Prominent  among  the  author's  incentives  was  the  de- 
sire to  investigate,  from  an  industrial  standpoint,  regarding 
the  lack  of  industries  until  within  the  last  half  century  and 
,  the  causes  of  business  revival  since.  He  had  no'  personal 
opinions  to  illustrate,  but  investigated  and  brought  forth  this 
accumulation  of  facts  so  that  he  and  others  might  be  enabled 
to  form  opinions  based  on  truth.  The  history  preaches  no 
doctrine  and  leans  to  no  side.  It  is  the  result  of  five  years  of 
almost  continuous  work,  of  painstaking  and  laborious  in- 
vestigations, of  considerable  financial  expenditure,  and  of  d 
guiding  desire  to  learn  and  to  record  the  historical  events  of 
the  county. 

The  author  is  not  a  native  oi  Mecklenburg.  He  was 
raised  on  a  farm  in  South  Carolina,  and  was  educated  at  the 
South  Carolina  College  and  at  Rensselaer  Polytechnic  Insti- 
tute in  Troy,  New  York,  and  though  active  participation  in 
Charlotte  life  in  recent  years  has  made  him  a  thorough  citi- 
zen, he  feels  that  he  can  view  in  an  impartial  manner 
the  events  herein  discussed.  The  data  was  gathered 
from  a  library  of  North  Carolina  history  and  literature. 


viii  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

unpublished  State  and  county  records  and  manuscripts,  the 
Colonial  and  State  Records,  private  correspondence  and  dia- 
ries and  business  records,  testimony  of  aged  and  reliable  cit- 
izens, and  files  of  Charlotte  newspapers  from  1824  to  1903. 

D.  A.  Tompkins. 
October  i,  1903. 


CONTENTS. 


Page. 
CHAPTER  I I 

THE  COLONISTS. 
An  Account  of  the  Settlement  of  the  Original  Colonies  and  of  the 
Causes  Which  Prompted  Emigration  to  North  Carolina  and  to 
the  Piedmont  Section. 

CHAPTER  H 7 

INDIANS   OP  THIS   SECTION.     (1753   to  1763.) 
Troubles  Between  White  People  and  Indians — Full  Report  of  a  Peace 
Conference — Wars  Among  Different  Indian  Tribes — The  Chero- 
kees  and  the  Catawbas. 

CHAPTER  ni 15 

EARLY  SETTLERS.      (1740  to  1762.) 
Original  Homes  of  the  Immigrants — Their  Nationalities — Traits  of 
Character — Religious  Persecutions  in  the  Old  Country,  and  Sub- 
sequent Removal  to  America  and  Mecklenburg  County. 

CHAPTER   IV 22 

INDUSTRIES  AND   CUSTOMS.     (1745  to   1762.) 
How  the  Settlers  Built  Their  Homes— Their  First  Mills  and  Occu- 
pations— Trading — Social  Life  and  Diversions. 

CHAPTER  V 28 

FORMATION  OF  THE  COUNTY.     (1762.) 
Creation  of  Mecklenburg  from  Anson — Origin  of  the  Names  of  the 
County  and  the  City  of  Charlotte — Physical  Description  of  the 
Country  at  that  Time. 

CHAPTER  VI 31 

BEGINNING   OF   CHARLOTTE.      (1762   to   1772.) 
Influences  Which  Tended  to  the  Necessity  for  a  Town — Difficulty  in 
Obtaining    a    Charter — The    First    Court    House — Laws   of    the 
New  Town. 


X  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

CHAPTER  VII    Page     35 

EARLY  TROUBLES  AND  REGULATORS.      (1762  to  1772.) 

Annoyances  on  Account  of  a  Disputed  Boundary  Line — The  McCul- 
loh  Land  Riots — Surveying  the  Cherokee  Boundary — Oppres- 
sive Taxes  and  Unjust  Officers,  and  the  Battle  of  Alamance. 

CHAPTER  VIII 41 

THE    APPROACHING    STORM.      (1772    to    1775.) 

England's  Position  With  Regard  to  America — Affairs  in  the  Colonies. 
— Governor  Martin's  Dissensions  With  the  Assembly — Rifle  Fac- 
tory in  Charlotte — Polk  Calls  the  Convention. 

CHAPTER   IX 46 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE;    MAY  20,  1775. 

Manner  of  Election  and  Assembling  of  the  Delegates— Excitement. 
— The  Addresses  and  the  Committee  on  Resolutions — News  of  the 
Battle  of  Lexington — Declaration  Unanimously  Adopted — Tem- 
porary Form   of  Government  Provided. 

CHAPTER  X 52 

GOVERNMENT   BY   THE   COMMITTEE.      (1775    to   1776.) 
Adjourned  Meeting  Held  May  31— Adopts  Rules  of  Government  Until 
"Laws  are  Provided  by  Congress" — Proceedings  Supplementary 
to   Previous   Convention — The   Two    Official   Declarations   Com- 
pared. 

CHAPTER   XI 56 

THE  REVOLUTION.      (1776  to  1780.) 
Organization  of  the  State  Military  Forces— Prominent  Parts  Taken 
by  Mecklenburg  Men— Scovilite  and  Tory  Campaigns— The  Con- 
tinental Troops — Governor  Caswell  in  Charlotte. 

CHAPTER  XII 60 

THE  HORNETS'  NEST.  (1780  to  1782.) 
Surrender  of  Charleston— Battle  of  Ramsour's  Mill — Davidson  and 
Davie  Harass  the  British— Reception  of  Cornwallis  in  Charlotte. 
—Surprise  at  Mclntyre's,  Battle  of  King's  Mountain  and  De- 
parture of  the  British — General  Davidson  Killed  at  Cowan's 
Ford. 


CONTENTS.  XI 

CHAPTER  XIII    Page     65 

CLOSE   OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.      (1776   to   1800.) 

War  Times  and  County  Affairs — Lawyers  and  Legislative  Proceed- 
ings— Monetary  System — Public  Buildings  and  Industries — An- 
drew Jackson  and  James  Knox  Polk  Born  in  Mecklenburg. 
— George  Washington  in  Charlotte. 

CHAPTER  XIV 70 

EDUCATION  BEFORE   1800. 

First  Teachers  and  Schools  in  Mecklenburg — Qualifications  of  Teach- 
ers and  Nature  of  Instruction — Grammar  and  Classical  Schools. 
— Queen's  College,  Queen's  Museum  and  Liberty  Hall. 

CHAPTER  XV 75 

RELIGION  AND   CHURCHES  FROM  1748  TO  1800. 

Presbyterians  Most  Numerous  in  the  Early  Times— Rev.  Hugh  Mc- 
Aden,  Rev.  John  Thompson  and  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead  the 
First  Preachers — Seven  Noted  Churches  and  Some  of  Their  Cus- 
toms. 

CHAPTER  XVI 80 

DOCTORS   AND   MEDICINES   BEFORE   1800. 

First  Physicians  in  the  County  and  the  Leading  Ones  of  the  Period. 
— Methods  of  Practice  and  the  Medicines  Used — Prevalence  of 
Witchcraft  and  Its  Treatment. 

CHAPTER  XVII 84 

SLAVERY  BEFORE  1800. 

Introduction  of  the  System  Was  Slow — Conditions  of  Labor — No  One 
Owned  More  Than  a  Dozen  Slaves — Prices,  Habits  and  Ability 
of  the  Negroes — Only  a  Few  Were  Skilled  Laborers. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 89 

FIRST  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.    (1800  to  1825.) 

Statistics  of  Wealth  and  Population  of  the  County  and  City — Im- 
provements in  Public  Buildings — Proceedings  and  Methods  of 
the  Courts— Richest  Man  in  the  County  Worth  $10,700. 


Xll  HISTORY  OF   MECKLKNBURG  COUNTY, 

CHAPTER  XIX  Page     94 

INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  COTTON  INDUSTRY.     (1790  to  1825.) 

First  Planting  in  the  Colonies  Was  Experimental — Little  Progress 
Made  Previous  to  the  Invention  of  the  Cotton  Gin — Two  Thousand 
Saws  in  Use  in  Mecklenburg  in  1803 — Rapid  Development  There- 
after. 

CHAPTER  XX 97 

EFFECT  OF  SLAVERY  ON  INDUSTRIES. 

Occupations  of  First  Settlers  and  the  Causes — They  Made  All  They 
Used — Slavery  Induced  Them  to  Turn  Their  Entire  Attention  to 
Agriculture — Comfortable  and   Peaceable   Conditions  Prevailed. 

v/     CHAPTER  XXI loi 

LIFE   IN  THE  OLD   SOUTH. 

A  Study  of  the  Negro — Dispositions  of  Planters  and  Systems  of  Agri- 
culture— Description  of  the  Plantations,  the  "Big  House"  and 
the  Cabins — Treatment  of  the  Slaves— Social  Diversions. 

CHAPTER   XXII 107 

CHURCHES  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

Growth  of  the  Congregations  in  the  County  and  the  Building  of  the 
First  Churches  in  Charlotte — Something  of  the  Most  Noted  Min- 
isters and  Their  Great  Influence — Revivals  and  Various  Reli- 
gious Incidents. 

CHAPTER  XXIII Ill 

EDUCATION  BEFORE   1860. 

First  Chartered  Schools — County  Academies — Ministers  Conducted 
Excellent  Schools— Beginning  of  the  Public  System— Military 
Institute — Male  and  Female  Institutes — Davidson  College. 

CHAPTER  XXIV 117 

^  GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  FROM  1825  TO  1860. 

Population,  W^ealth  and  Taxes — Trades  and  Improvements — Laws 
and  Courts — Newspapers — Mecklenburg's  Part  in  the  Mexican 
War — Smallpox — Fairs  and  Public  Exhibitions — The  Census  of 
1840. 


CONTENTS.  Xlll 

CHAPTER  XXV   Page  124 

RAILROADS   AND   INDUSTRIES   FROM   1830   TO   1860. 
Realization  of  Necessity  for  Better  Means  of  Travel  and  Commerce. 
— Work  on  the  Catawba  River — Railroad  Agitation  in  1833 — The 
Old  Stage  Coach — First  Passenger  Train  in  1852 — County  Road 
Commissioners — Varied  Industries. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 129 

MINING  AND  THE  MINT  BEFORE  1860. 
Discovery  of  Gold  in  1790 — First  Attempt  at  Mining  in  1825 — Foreign 
Investors  Take  Active  Interest — Most  Noted  Mines  and  Their 
Productions — Mint   Established    in   Charlotte   in   1837,   and    Its 
Record  Since. 

CHAPTER  XXVII 133 

SLAVERY,  POLITICS  AND  SECESSION.     (1825  to  186L) 
Dividing    Issues    Discussed — Customs    Regarding    Slaves — Political 
Animosity — Mecklenburg  Strongly  Southern  in  Feeling — County 
Declares   for   Secession   Twenty   Days   Before   South   Carolina. 
— North  Carolina  Secedes. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII 138 

CIVIL  WAR.  (1861  to  1865.) 
Mecklenburg  Soldiers  Among  the  First  to  Volunteer — Were  Promi- 
nent in  the  Formation  of  the  First  or  "Bethel"  Regiment — Dis- 
tinguished Officers  From  Mecklenburg — Conditions  in  the  County 
During  the  War — Last  Meeting  of  Confederate  Cabinet  Held  in 
Charlotte. 

CHAPTER  XXIX 143 

RECONSTRUCTION.      (1865    to    1875.) 
Mecklenburg    Escaped    the    Worst    Evils    of    Those    Days — Federal 
Officers  and  Troops  in  Charlotte — Editor  Waring  Indicted  for 
Espousing  the  Southern  Cause — Conduct  of  the  Negroes  Com- 
paratively Peaceable — Elections  in  the  County. 

CHAPTER  XXX 149 

FIRST   DECADE  WITHOUT   SLAVERY.      (1865   to   1875.) 
County  Affairs  in  War  Times — Emancipation  Forced  White  Men  to 
Work — Attention  Diverted  to  New  Things — This  Section  an  In- 
viting  Field    for    Investors — Reasons    for   the    Progress    Made. 
Death  of  a  Woman  Who  Remembered  May  20,  1775. 


^ 


XIV  HISTORY  OF  MECKLKNBURG  COUNTY. 

CHAPTER  XXXI    Page  154 

INDEPENDENCE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.    (May  20,  1875.) 
Preparations  and   Committees   for   the   Event — Great   Men   Present. 
— Marshals    Were    Confederate    Generals — Immense    Crowd    in 
Charlotte — The  Proceedings  and  Interesting  Incidents. 

CHAPTER  XXXH 158 

LAST    QUARTER   OF   THE    CENTURY.      (1875    to    1900.) 
Public  Improvements — Public  Buildings — Medical  Society — Law  As- 
sociation— Newspapers — Farms. 

CHAPTER  XXXHI 162 

THE  CHURCHES  FROM  1860  TO  1903. 
Short  Sketches  of  the  Growth  of  the  Principal  Congregations  of  the 
Leading   Denominations   in   the   City   and   County,   and   of   the 
Other  Religious  Organizations. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV i66 

EDUCATION  FROM  1860  TO  1903. 
Development   of   County   Public   School    System — Charlotte   Graded 
Schools  First  in  the  State — Presbyterian,   Elizabeth,   Davidson 
and  Medical  Colleges — Charlotte  Military  Institute — Biddle  Uni- 
versity and  St.  Michael's  Training  and  Industrial  School. 

CHAPTER  XXXV 173 

MINING,  BANKING  AND  THE  ASSAY  OFFICE.      (1860  to  1903.) 

Use   of  Improved   Mining   Machinery   After   the   War — The   Miners 

and  the  Products — Minerals  Found  in  the  County — Receipts  of 

Gold    and    Silver   at   the   Assay    Office — History    of   the    Office. 

— Charlotte's  Leading  Banking   Institutions. 

CHAPTER  XXXVI  176 

ROAD   BUILDING  FROM  1880  TO   1903. 
Influences  Which  Made  Better  Roads  Necessary — Original  Methods 
and  Subsequent  Progress — Cost  of  Roads — Convict  Labor  Satis- 
factory— Lessons  Taught  by  Experience. 

CHAPTER  XXXVII i8o 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  MANUFACTURES.  (1865  to  1900.) 
Iron  Substituted  for  Wood  in  Machinery  as  a  Result  of  the  Abolition 
of  Cheap  Labor — Necessity  Forces  Improvements — First  Cotton 
Mill  Built  in  1881  and  First  Cotton  Oil  Mill  in  1882— Cotton 
Compresses — Industrial  Progress  Attendant  Upon  Manufactur- 
ing— Situation  in  1900. 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XXXVIII Page  185 

MECKLENBURG  AND  CHARLOTTE  IN  1903. 
Population,  Taxable  Real  Estate,  Personal  Property,  Railroads  and 
Banks— Expenses  and  Receipts  of  County  and  City— Social  and 
Business   Organizations— Incorporated   Towns— Farm   Products. 
— New  Buildings. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 187 

MECKLENBURG'S  GREAT  CITIZENS. 

Sketches  of  the  Lives  of  President  Andrew  Jackson,  President  James 

Knox  Polk  and  Senator  Zebulon  Baird  Vance. 

CHAPTER  XL 193 

SUMMARY. 
Explanation  of  the  Growth  and  Development  of  Mecklenburg  and 
Charlotte   Under   Diverse   Conditions   in   Different   Periods,    in 
Comparison  With  the  United  States  and  North  Carolina. 


INDEX  TO  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


-^^  North  Carolina  State  Flag frontispiece 

\^  Map  of  Mecklenburg  Outlines i 

-^  Queen  Charlotte   29 

First  Court  House 31 

News  of  the  Battle  of  Lexington 47 

"^  Sketch  of  Catawba  River 57 

Receipt  for  Tuition  in  Queen's  Museum 71 

Bill  for  Teaching,  1771 73 

Receipt  Dated  in  1810 89 

Cotton  Plant  in  September 91 

Cotton  Plant  in  November 91 

Whitney's  Original  Model   95 

Holmes'  Saw  Gin 97 

Cotton  "Square"  and  Bloom 99 

Matured  Boll  and  Opening  Boll 99 

Open  Boll  and  Empty  Boll 99 

The  "Big  House"  .  / loi 

Spinning  Wheel  103 

Spinning  Wheel  and  Yarn  Reel 103 

Ante-Bellum  Bed  Room 105 

Slaves  and  Their  Cabin,  1850 105 

Subscriptions  to  Charlotte  Academy,  1823 iii 

Davidson  College,  Main  Building,  1857 115 

Gin  House  and  Screw 119 

Modem  Steam  Cotton  Ginnery 1 19 

Bill  of  Sale  123 

Notice  of  Sale   123 

^  County  Court  House,  1888 159 

County  Court  House,  1898 159 

City  Hall,    1888 159 

City  Hall,    1898 159 


XVlll  HISTORY  OF  MECKL,ENBURG  COUNTY. 

Railroad  Station,   1888 P<Jg^  159 

Railroad  Station,    1898 159 

Average  Road,   1888 159 

Average  Road,   1898 1 59 

First   Presbyterian   Church 163 

Try  on  Street  Baptist  Church 163 

Try  on  Street  M.  E.  Church,  South 165 

Catholic  Church    165 

Davidson  College  Campus 167 

Presbyterian   College    169 

Elizabeth  College   171 

Road  Machinery  1 79 

Cotton  Mill  and  Cotton 181 

Cotton  Mill  Operatives    183 

Wheat   185 

Corn    185 

Grapes    187 

Cattle   187 

Andrew  Jackson   189 

Jackson's  Birthplace    189 

James  Knox  Polk 191 

Polk's  Birthplace  191 

Zebulon  Baird  Vance 191 

Diagram    193 


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CHAPTER  I. 

THE   COLONISTS. 

An  Account  of  the  Settlement  of  the  Original  Colonies  and  of  the 
Causes  Which  Prompted  Emigration  to  North  Carolina  and  to 
the  Piedmont  Section. 

October  12,  1492,  Christopher  Columbus  landed  on  one  of 
the  Bahama  Islands  named  by  him  San  Salvador.  He  never 
touched  the  main  land  of  North  America,  though  on  his  third 
voyage  he  visited  the  coast  of  South  America.  In  1499, 
Americus  Vespucius,  a  bold  and  intelligent  navigator,  pub- 
lished a  map  of  the  coast  of  North  America,  and  wrote  vivid 
descriptions  of  the  lands  he  visited,  so  that  his  contempora- 
ries named  the  continent  America,  in  his  honor.  In  1497, 
an  Englishman,  John  Cabot,  discovered  the  continent  of 
North  America,  and  hence  England  assumed  the  right  of  ex- 
clusive possession  on  account  of  prior  discovery.  In  1498, 
John  Cabot  and  his  son,  Sebastian,  explored  the  whole  coast 
line  from  Labrador  to  the  mouth  of  Chesapeake  Bay. 

The  Spaniards  were  the  first  settlers  of  the  new  land — 
along  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  in  what  is  now  Mex- 
ico. In  1535,  Jacques  Cartier,  a  Frenchman,  sailed  up  the 
St.  Lawrence  as  far  as  Montreal,  and  planted  a  fort  on  the 
heights  of  Quebec  in  1541.  In  1562,  and  the  years  following, 
the  French  Huguenots  made  a  settlement  in  Florida,  but 
were  destroyed  by  the  Spaniards,  who  had  established  St. 
Augustine  in  1565,  from  which  the  French  were  unable  to 
drive  them.  The  French  planted  more  settlements  in  what 
is  now  Nova  Scotia — then  called  Acadia,  and  all  the  way  up 
the  St.  Lawrence,  at  the  beginning  of  the  Seventeenth  cen- 
tury. From  the  year  1600,  France  arid  England  were  the 
only  real  rivals  for  the  colonization  of  North  America.  The 
resistance  of  the  Dutch  in  the  Netherlands  and  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Spanish  Armada  broke  the  power  of  Spain. 


2  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

In  1578.  the  Eng-lish  fitted  out  an  expedition  to  settle  Lab- 
rador. But  the  hundred  settlers  were  afraid  to  be  left  alone 
on  that  bleak  coast,  and  the  colony  returned  without  accom- 
plishing anything.  In  1583,  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  and  Sir 
Walter  Raleigh,  as  representatives  of  England,  went  through 
the  form  of  claiming  New  Foundland,  whose  valuable  fish- 
eries were  already  supplying  Euroi>e  with  fish,  a  hundred  and 
fifty  vessels  from  France  and  forty  from  England  being  en- 
gaged in  that  trade.  In  1584,  Raleigh  sent  out  two  ships  to 
take  a  more  southerly  course  from  England,  and  they  came 
to  Roanoke  Island,  North  Carolina.  The  whole  country 
then  between  the  parallels  of  33  degrees  and  45  degrees  north 
latitude  was  named  by  Raleigh,  Virginia,  in  honor  of  Eng- 
land's virgin  queen,  Elizabeth.  The  first  colony  on  Roanoke 
Island  was  of  men  only,  and  it  failed.  The  idea  was  explor- 
ation rather  than  colonization.  The  second  colony,  on  the 
same  island,  contained  women  and  men,  and  here,  April  18, 
1687,  the  first  white  child  born  in  America,  Virginia  Dare, 
first  saw  the  light.  The  colony  was  left  in  good  condition 
with  promises  of  succor  from  England.  But  when  the  ships 
came,  the  colonists  had  all  disappeared.  The  Indians  of 
Roanoke  Island  had  been  described  by  one  of  these  colonists 
to  be  "most  gentle,  loving  and  faithful,  and  such  as  live  after 
the  manner  of  the  golden  age."  The  disappearance  of  the 
colony  has  remained  a  mystery,  though  it  is  claimed  that 
the  whites  intermarried  with  the  Indians,  and  that  the  Croa- 
tan  Indians  of  Robeson  county  are  the  descendants  of  the 
mixed  race.  This  is  the  only  answer  that  has  ever  been 
given  to  the  question,  "What  became  of  the  lost  colony?" 

In  April,  1607,  the  first  permanent  English  settlement  in 
what  is  now  the  United  States,  was  made  at  Jamestown,  in 
Virginia.  The  Spaniards  had  been  upon  the  very  spot  eighty 
years  before,  but  they  had  given  up,  and  the  English  re- 
mained permanently.  After  Jamestown  came  Henrico, 
Hampton,  New  Bermuda,  and  other  settlements  in  Virginia. 
In   1 6 19,  a  Virginia  Assembly  met.     In  that  year  also  a 


THE    COLONISTS.  3 

Dutch  vessel  broug'ht  the  first  negro  slaves,  twenty  of  them, 
to  America.  The  Puritans  landed  on  Plymouth  Rock  the 
next  year,  in  1620,  making  a  permanent  colony  there.  Be- 
tween them  and  the  Virginia  Colony  the  Dutch  had  estab- 
lished themselves  in  the  New  Netherlands.  As  early  as 
1 610,  they  built  a  fort  on  the  Hudson  at  Albany,  and  had  put 
up  a  few  log  huts  on  Manhattan  Island,  which  they  called 
New  Amsterdam.  Captain  Argall  was  sent  from  Virginia 
to  subdue  New  Amsterdam  and  did  so,  but  so  soon  as  he 
went  back  the  Dutch  threw  off  the  English  yoke.  In  1651 
they  conquered  a  Swedish  colony  and  became  the  rivals  of 
the  Puritans  in  trade  with  the  Indians.  The  Dutch  extended 
their  settlements  from  Connecticut  to  the  Delaware.  In 
1664,  they  gave  up  their  town,  New  Amsterdam,  to  Colonel 
Nicholas,  acting  for  the  Duke  of  York,  and  both  New  Neth- 
erlands and  New  Amsterdam  changed  their  names  to  New 
York. 

In  1633,  the  Colony  of  Maryland,  with  its  liberal  charter, 
was  founded  by  Lord  Baltimore,  and  it  was  settled  from  Vir- 
ginia, from  the  New  Netherlands  and  by  the  Catholic  immi- 
grants from  England.  Delaware  had  been  first  settled  by 
the  Swedes,  who  had  acknowledged  the  authority  of  the 
Dutch.  The  Swedes  had  also  been  the  first  settlers  of  Penn- 
sylvania. In  1681,  Charles  the  Second  granted  a  charter  for 
the  whole  country  to  William  Penn,  the  Quaker,  and  named 
it  Pennsylvania.  The  same  year  a  party  from  Germany  set- 
tled in  what  is  now  known  as  Germantown.  The  Quakers, 
who  were  persecuted  in  England,  came  over  in  great  num- 
bers. Other  Germans  followed  and  colonized  Western 
Pennsylvania.  From  about  this  .time  began  the  immigration 
of  the  Scotch-Irish,  from  Ulster  county,  Ireland,  in  scatter- 
ing bands,  into  New  England,  in  larger  numbers  into  New 
York  and  New  Jersey,  and  by  the  thousand  into  Pennsylva- 
nia, settling  Philadelphia  and  then  going  beyond  the  Ger- 
man settlements  still  farther  west. 

In  1670,  a  few  emigrants  from  England  settled  at  Port 


4  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

Royal,  South  Carolina,  moving  the  next  year  to  the  western 
bank  of  the  Ashley  river  and  again  to  Oyster  Point,  at  the 
junction  of  the  Ashley  and  Cooper  rivers  where,  in  1680,  the 
foundations  of  Charleston  were  laid.  They  were  reinforced 
in  1673  by  an  immigration  of  Dutch  from  New  York,  seek- 
ing new  homes  after  the  English  conquest  of  the  New  Neth- 
erlands. In  1686  there  was  a  large  immigration  of  the 
Huguenots  who  fled  from  religious  persecution  in  France. 
After  long  controversies  between  the  English  and  these 
Dutch  and  French  dissenters,  the  latter  were  admitted  to  all 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  the  former.  The  South  Carolina 
Colony  was  constantly  threatened  by  the  Spaniards  to  the 
south  of  them.  Later  in  history,  Georgetown  became  an 
important  point.  The  Scotch-Irish  also  made  Charleston  a 
port  of  entry.  A  large  Swiss  settlement  was  made  near  the 
coast,  but  was  so  much  reduced  by  the  too  great  change  in 
climate  from  their  native  mountains  that  the  survivors  moved 
westward  toward  the  up  countr)-. 

"The  Carolinas"  is  the  name  given  by  the  French  who  ex- 
plored them  in  1563,  in  honor  of  Charles  the  Ninth.  The 
first  permanent  settlements  in  North  Carolina  were  made 
from  Virginia  and  by  English  immigrants,  along  the  Chowan 
river,  adjacent  to  Virginia.  Some  of  these  lands,  although 
lying  in  North  Carolina,  were  deeded  by  Governor  Berkeley, 
of  Virginia,  as  the  boundary  line  of  36  degrees  and  30  min- 
utes was  not  determined  until  1728.  The  first  settlements  of 
importance  were  made  in  1653.  All  along  the  border  of 
eastern  and  middle  North  Carolina,  the  Virginia  settlers 
poured  over  the  line.  The  land  grants  in  this  colony  were 
more  desirable  and  the  taxes  and  levies  less  than  in  Vir- 
ginia. But  for  sixty  years  the  population  was  mostly  con- 
fined to  the  territory  north  of  Albemarle  Sound,  which  gave 
its  name  to  Albemarle  county,  one  of  the  two  divisions  of 
the  colony.  A  colony  from  the  Barbadoes  settled  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Cape  Fear  in  1665,  but  in  1690  the  last  of  these 
settlers  left  and  moved  south  to  Charleston.  This  colony 
was  called  the  county  of  Clarendon.     In  1663  the  counties 


THE    COLONISTS.  5 

of  Clarendon  and  Albemarle  were  united  under  the  gfovern- 
ment  of  Lords  Proprietors.  There  was  an  open  revolt  in 
Albemarle  until  the  people  were  persuaded  that  their  liber- 
ties would  be  preserved.  This  was  in  1669,  when  there  met 
an  Assembly  composed  of  the  Governor  and  his  Council  and 
twelve  delegates  elected  by  the  people.  In  1709  and  1710, 
several  thousand  Swiss  and  German  immigrants  from  the 
Palatinate  settled  at  New  Bern,  which  was  named  for  the 
Swiss  city.  Baron  De  GrafTenreid  was  their  leader.  There 
was  a  dreadful  massacre  by  the  Indians  in  1712,  in  which  / 
many  of  these  and  other  settlers  lost  their  lives.  So  the  prog-  1 
ress  of  the  colony  was  slow.  In  171 7,  the  taxable  inhabi- 
tants numbered  only  2,000,  and  in  1729  the  number  had 
grown  to  13,000.  Then  the  tide  of  immigration  began  to 
pour  in  all  at  once,  and  on  account  of  late  settlement,  the 
foreign  population  was  greater  in  North  Carolina,  and  the 
immigration  from  the  other  colonies  as  compared  with  Eng- 
lish immigration  was  also  larger.  The  population  of  20,000, 
including  the  negro  slaves,  in  1730,  had  grown  to  393.000 
by  1790.  This  growth  was  largely  by  immigration  from 
the  other  colonies. 

The  first  known  land  grant  was  made  in  16^3  to  a  Quaker  ^ 
named  Durant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  and  Perquimans  I 
rivers,  which  became  the  nucleus  for  a  large  Quaker  settle- 
ment— a  refuge  for  those  who,  were  persecuted  in  both  Vir- 
ginia and  New  England.  Other  dissenters,  from  Nanse- 
mond  county,  Virginia,  one  colony  being  composed  of  sixty- 
seven  persons,  settled  in  the  territory  just  over  the  line. 

After  Bacon's  Rebellion,  especially,  "fugitives  from  arbi- 
trary tribunals,  non-conformists,  and  friends  of  popular  lib- 
erty, fled  to  Carolina  as  their  common  subterfuge  and  lurk- 
ing place."  In  1672,  there  was  organized  resistance  against 
England  for  the  oppressive  laws,  taxing  tobacco  a  penny  a 
pound  and  requiring  its  shipment  to  England  for  taxation 
before  it  could  be  sent  elsewhere.  The  people  arrested  the 
Deputy  Governor  and  Council  and  elected  a  Governor  of 
their  own,  an  Englishman  named  Culpepper.      Savs   Ban- 


t>  HISTORY    or    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

croft  of  this  incident:  "Are  tiiere  any  who  doubt  man's 
capacity  for  self-government — let  them  study  the  history 
of  North  Carolina.  Its  inhabitants  were  restless  and  turbu- 
lent in  their  imperfect  submission  to  a  government  imixjsed 
on  them  from  abroad;  .the  administration  of  the  colony  was 
firm,  humane  and  tranquil  when  they  were  left  to  take  care 
of  themselves.  The  uneducated  population  of  that  day 
formed  conclusions  as  just  as  those  which  a  century  later 
pervaded  the  country." 

The  main  settlers  in  Eastern  Carolina  were  English  from 
Virginia,  and  as  the  country  was  settled  along  the  coast  they 
gradually  moved  westward.  Henry  McCulloh  settled  a  col- 
ony of  Scotch-Irish  direct  from  Ireland  in  Duplin  county  in 
1736.  From  the  year  1740  a  stream  of  Scotch-Irish  and 
German  immigrants  from  Pennsylvania  and  the  Valley  of 
Virginia  poured  southward  along  the  whole  of  the  Piedmont 
section.  In  1746  occurred  in  Scotland  the  Battle  of  Culloden, 
in  which  the  Scotch  Highlanders,  w^ho  were  still  loyal  to  the 
House  of  Stuart,  were  defeated.  In  the  following  year  and 
for  years  afterward  colonies  of  these  Highlanders  came  to 
Wilmington  and  then  up  the  Cape  Fear,  settling  what  are 
now  Bladen,  Sampson,  Cumberland,  Harnett,  Moore,  Robe- 
son, Richmond  and  Scotland  counties.  In  1750,  the  iMora- 
vians  purchased  100,000  acres  of  land  from  Lord  Granville, 
in  Surry  County.  In  the  meantime  there  began  an  immigra- 
tion over  the  southern  line  of  the  colony  from  Charleston 
and  Georgetown  as  ports  of  entry,  and  from  the  several 
nationalities  that  had  already  settled  South  Carolina.  This 
northward  movement  from  South  Carolina  and  the  migra- 
tion westward  from  the  settled  portions  of  the  eastern  coun- 
ties, and  the  movement  southward  from  Pennsylvania  and 
Virigina,  met  and  mingled  in  the  southern  Piedmont  region 
now  occupied  by  Mecklenburg  and  adjacent  counties. 


CHAPTER    II. 

INDIANS   OF   THIS    SECTION.      (1753   to   1763.) 

Troubles  Between  White  People  and  Indians — Full  Report  of  a  Peace 
Conference — Wars  Among  Different  Indian  Tribes— The  Chero- 
kees  and  the  Catawbas. 

American  Indians  were  much  the  same  everywhere.  In 
the  days  when  the  white  people  beg-an  to  settle  this  section, 
they  found  the  American  Indian  in  possession  of  the  land. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  Indian  characteristics  or  to 
lament  the  exit  of  the  Red  Man  from  the  field  of  action,  or  to 
accuse  our  ancestors  of  barbarity  in  their  treatment  of  this 
race  of  people.  The  Indian  was  not  capable  of  civilization, 
and  he,  for  that  reason  more  than  all  others,  is  not  with  us 
today.  But  the  Indian  character  in  its  general  features  was 
the  same  everywhere,  and  needs  no  special  discussion  for  the 
reason  that  the  Indians  originally  living  in  this  section  dis- 
played no  marked  differences  from  those  found  all  over  the 
country  when  the  English  began  to  found  their  colonies. 

Originally,  the  Catawba  Indian  nation  inhabited  the  val- 
leys of  the  Catawba  river  and  its  tributaries,  and  claimed  all 
the  country  adjacent  thereto  as  far  west  as  the  Blue  Ridge 
mountains.  West  of  the  Blue  Ridge  the  Cherokees  held 
sway.  The  Catawbas,  like  other  Indians,  delighted  in 
pomp  and  show,  painted  their  faces  and  wore  feathers  and 
showy  trinkets.  Their  religion  consisted  largely  in  ward- 
ing off  evil  spirits  by  charms,  totems  and  incantations.  They 
burned  off  their  hair  with  live  coals,  wore  furs,  used  the  bow 
and  arrow  and  the  stone  axe.  The  conjurer  and  the  medi- 
cine man  were  little  less  than  gods  among  these  people.  The 
dance  and  the  masquerade  were  similar  to  those  held  every- 
where by  Indians.  Their  feasts  and  their  methods  of  war- 
fare were  the  same  as  among  other  tribes.  Hence,  it  seems 
that  these  Catawbas  were  no  better  Indians  than  were  to  be 


8  HISTORY    OF    MECKl.KNBURG    COUNTY. 

found  elsewhere  uii  the  American  continent.  If  they  were 
sometimes  well  disposed  towards  the  whites,  it  was  for  rea- 
sons other  than  those  springing-  from  innate  goodness,  as 
their  history  will  show. 

In  order  to  get  an  idea  of  the  Indian  and  his  doings  in 
this  section,  it  will  be  necessary  to  note  the  Indian  troubles 
which  took  place  here  from  1750  and  up  to  and  after  the 
organization  of  this  county.  The  first  thing  to  be  noted  is 
that  foreign  Indians  were  always  passing  back  and  forth 
through  this  section,  committing  all  kinds  of  lawlessness 
upon  the  English  settlers  at  the  instigation  of  the  French. 
Generally,  these  roving  bands  were  small  in  numbers.  As 
early  as  June,  1753,  three  "French  Indians"  and  five  north- 
ern Indians  met  thirteen  Catawbas  about  two  miles  from 
Salisbury  and  fought  a  small  battle.  The  Catawbas  killed  five 
of  their  enemies,  suffering  no  loss  themselves.  The  white 
people  who  lived  along  the  routes  taken  by  these  roving 
bands  always  suffered  either  personal  violence  or  loss  of 
proj^erty. 

June  16,  1754,  Colonel  John  Clark,  of  the  Anson  Militia 
Regiment,  reported  that  the  Indians  had  recently  killed  six- 
teen white  jiersons  on  Broad  river.  This  proceeding  was 
the  work  of  the  Catawbas  or  the  Cherokees,  and  was  thought 
to  be  the  beginning  of  an  attempt  to  cut  off  the  frontiers 
from  the  more  thickly  settled  portions  of  the  province.  This 
event,  as  well  as  the  threatening  attitude  of  all  the  Indians 
in  this  section,  led  the  whites  to  cultivate  closer  friendship 
with  the  Catawbas  than  ever  before.  The  Governor  of  the 
province,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  whites  of  this  section,  ap- 
pointed James  Carter  and  Alexander  Osborne,  of  Rowan, 
to  treat  with  the  Catawbas  and  settle  the  troubles  then  exist- 
ing between  the  two  races.  Accordingly,  on  the  29th  day  of 
August,  1754,  the  commissioners  met  "King  Hagler  and 
sundry  of  his  head  men  and  warriors"  at  Matthew  Toole's 
house,  and  proceeded  to  discuss  affairs  relating  to  the  whites 
and  the  Catawbas,  Toole  acting  as  interpreter.  At  this 
meeting  the  whites  presented  their  grievances  against  the 


INDIANS  OF  THIS   SECTION.  9 

Indians  and  the  Indians  explained  the  cause  of  their  own 
offenses,  and  in  turn  presented  their  grievances  against  the 
whites.  The  Indians  were  accused  of  going  to  the  mill  of 
one  William  Morrison  and  attempting  to  throw  a  pail  of 
water  in  the  meal  trough,  and,  when  Morrison  tried  to  pre- 
vent them,  of  attempting  to  strike  the  miller  over  the  head 
with  their  guns.  The  Indians  replied  to  this  charge,  that 
they  only  intended  to  put  a  few  handfuls  of  meal  in  the  pail 
to  make  a  drink,  according  to  their  custom. 

The  whites  then  brought  up  the  murder  of  a  little  girl  be- 
low the  Waxhaw  settlement  by  Indians.  Hagler  said  that 
his  warriors  had  killed  the  drunken  Indian  who  had  commit- 
ted this  crime,  forcing  the  Indian's  own  cousin  to  kill  the 
murderer  in  the  presence  of  an  assembled  band  of  warriors 
and  whites,  thus  demonstrating  to  the  white  people  that  the 
Indians  were  willing  to  punish  such  an  offender.  Other 
charges  were  then  preferred  by  various  persons,  accusing  the 
Indians  of  taking  bread,  meat,  clothes,  of  trying  to  carry 
away  a  child,  and  of  attempting  to  stab  men  and  women  who 
opposed  them  in  the  commission  of  such  petty  lawlessness. 
In  reply  to  these  latter  charges,  Hagler  said  that  the  Indians 
were  often  at  war  with  their  enemies,  and  that  it  was  not 
always  possible  for  them  to  hunt  and  to  get  bread  for  them- 
selves ;  that  under  such  circumstances  they  had  gone  to  the 
houses  of  white  people  and  had  asked  for  something  to  eat, 
but  that  the  whites  would  hide  everything  from  them  and 
say  there  was  nothing  for  them.  Hagler,  continuing,  said 
the  Indians  under  such  circumstances  had  often  searched  the 
houses  of  .the  whites  for  food  and  found  it.  He  averred  that 
one  of  his  wild  young  men  merely  pretended  he  was  going 
to  carry  away  the  child  mentioned  by  the  whites  in  order  to 
surprise  the  child's  parents  and  have  a  joke  at  their  ex- 
pense. 

The  whites  then  accused  Hagler's  warriors  of  other  acts 
of  theft,  and  Hagler  replied  that  he  had  some  warriors  who 
had  stolen  knives,  clothes,  and  the  like,  although  cautioned 
not  to  do  so.     Hagler  told  the  whites  that  thev  themselves 


lO  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

were  responsible  for  many  of  the  crimes  they  charged  against 
the  Indians,  as  they  rotted  grain  in  tubs  and  made  strong 
drink  of  it  and  sold  and  gave  it  to  the  Indians,  causing  them 
to  get  very  drunk  and  to  commit  all  manner  of  excesses. 
Hagler  recommended  that  the  whites  take  some  steps  to  pre- 
vent the  selling  of  liquor  to  the  Indians. 

The  commissioners  then  j^resented  the  charge  of  horse 
stealing  against  the  Indians,  a  crime  which  they  said  was 
punishable  by  death  among  the  whites.  Hagler  replied  by 
saying  that  the  Indians  had  also  had  many  of  their  own 
horses  stolen  by  white  people;  that  they  had  lately  caught 
one  white  man  with  some  of  their  horses  and  carried  him  be- 
fore a  South  Carolina  justice  of  the  peace,  but  tlie  man  was 
not  punished. 

The  Indians  made  many  speeches  during  this  meeting,  all 
professing  friendship  for  the  whites.  In  one  of  his  talks 
Hagler  said  that  the  Great  Man  Above  made  us  all,  as  well 
as  this  island;  that  he  fi.xed  the  Indian's  forefathers  here; 
that  in  the  early  days  the  Indians  had  no  instruments  to 
make  a  liviiig,  only  bows  and  arrows  of  stone;  that  they  had 
no  knives,  and  cut  their  hair  by  burning  it  ofT  their  heads 
and  bodies  with  live  coals  of  fire;  that  they  had  only  stone 
axes;  that  they  bled  themselves  with  fish  teeth,  and  wore 
clothes  of  skin  and  furs.  But  now  Hagler  said  that  his 
brethren  enjoyed  the  clothes  which  they  got  from  the  whites, 
as  well  as  many  other  conveniences,  and  that  the  Indians 
wished  to  live  in  i>eace  with  their  white  neighbors.  Hagler 
was  very  urgent  in  calling  the  attention  of  the  commission- 
ers to  the  selling  and  giving  away  of  whiskey  to  the  Indians, 
and  asked  that  such  practices  be  stopped.  The  chief  said 
that  many  of  his  warriors  had  lately  died  from  the  effects  of 
whiskey,  and  that  many  of  the  crimes  committed  by  his  peo- 
ple were  directly  traceable  to  the  use  of  liquor.  The  confer- 
ence broke  up  and  a  better  understanding  between  the  Ca- 
tawbas  and  whites  seems  to  have  resulted. 

During  the  year  1755.  Governor  Dobbs  visited  this  sec- 
tion and  selected  a  site  for  a  fort  on  Fourth  creek,  in  the 


INDIANS  OF  THIS   SECTION.  II 

territory  between  Salisbury  and  the  present  town  of  States- 
ville.  This  fort,  named  in  honor  of  the  Governor,  was 
erected  and  a  company  of  soldiers  under  Hugh  Waddell  sent 
to  occupy  it  and  to  giiard  the  frontiers.  It  was  built  of  oak 
logs,  fifty-three  by  forty  feet,  twenty-four  and  a  half  feet 
high,  with  three  floors  in  it,  and  room  for  the  discharge  of 
one  hundred  muskets  at  one  time.  It  is  said  that  a  garrison 
of  forty-eight  men  remained  there  during  the  year  1756. 

During  1756,  a  fort  was  begun  at  the  Catawba  nation. 
Governor  Dobbs  visited  the  Catawbas  in  1755,  and  no  doubt 
selected  the  site  for  this  fort,  as  w^ell  as  the  one  in  Rowan. 
The  government  of  the  province  procured  a  tract  of  six 
hundred  and  forty  acres,  on  which  tO'  erect  the  fort,  at  a  cost 
of  £60,  but  it  appears  that  the  work  was  never  com- 
pleted, as  the  Catawbas  did  not  like  the  idea  of  its  erection 
so  near  them,  thinking,  no  doubt,  the  whites  would  use  it  to 
oppress  them.  When  the  Indians  became  restless  on  account 
of  its  erection,  they  were,  by  the  Governor's  order,  given 
presents  amounting  to  £42  12s.  9d.  The  work  done  at  the 
fort  was  finally  abandoned  after  something  like  £i,ooO'  had 
been  expended. 

While  the  white  people  were  busy  trying  to-  erect  the  fort 
at  the  Catawba  nation,  the  settlers  on  Broad  river  sent  an- 
other complaint  to  the  Legrslature,  reciting  the  perpetra- 
tion of  several  robberies  by  strolling  bands  of  Indians,  pre- 
sumably Cherokees,  headed  by  some  French  and  Northern 
Indians,  who  hoped  thereby  to  provoke  the  settlers  to  some 
violence  that  they  might  have  a  pretext  to  murder  or  to 
bring  on  a  general  Indian  war.  These  acts  of  villainy  con- 
tinued all  through  the  summer  of  1756,  and  until  late  in  the 
fall.  The  people  on  the  frontiers  said  that  the  garrison  at 
Fort  Dobbs  and  the  militia  aiding  that  garrison  could  do'  lit- 
tle in  case  of  a  general  Indian  uprising,  and  hence  the  back 
settlers  were  being  forced  tO'  retire  from  their  lands  and 
take  up  their  residence  in  the  inner  settlements.  Many  of 
the  settlers,  forced  from  their  homes,  took  refuge,  in  the  fall 


12  HISTORY    OF    MECKLrENBURG    COUNTY. 

of  1756,  with  the  Moravians  at  Bethabara,  which  town  was 
enclosed  with  paHsades. 

Notwithstanding-  the  Catawbas  had  been  well  treated  by 
the  whites  and  had  been  given  gTJns,  clothing  and  presents 
of  various  kinds,  and  even  a  fort  had  been  begun  in  their 
border  as  a  protection  both  to  themselves  and  to  the  whites, 
and  had  been  abandoned  at  their  behest,  these  Indians  be- 
came restless  and  cruel  in  the  year  1757,  and  began  to  insult 
the  whites  and  do  many  acts  of  petty  violence.  They  went 
so  far  in  their  violence  as  to  go  to  Salisbury  while  the  Dis- 
trict Court  was  in  session  and  insult  the  Chief  Justice. 

In  May,  1758,  the  Rowan  people  informed  the  Assembly 
that  the  frequency  of  Indian  outrages  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Dan  river  had  caused  the  settlers  on  the  forks  of  the 
Yadkin  to  leave  their  homes  and  retire  "farther  inland." 
Outrages  on  the  Dan  continued,  as  well  as  murders  and  rob- 
beries all  along  the  western  frontiers,  during  the  year  1758 
and  in  the  spring  of  1759,  so  much  so  that  Governor  Dobbs 
laid  the  condition  of  the  frontier  settlers  before  the  Assem- 
bly and  Colonel  Hugh  Waddell  was  given  two  companies  of 
provincial  troops  and  power  to  order  out  the  militia  of  An- 
son, Rowan  and  Orange  counties  to  punish  the  Cherokees. 

In  the  fall  of  1759,  Governor  Lyttleton,  of  South  Caro- 
lina, appealed  to  Georgia,  North  Carolina  and  Virginia  to 
aid  him  in  an  expedition  against  the  Cherokees.  Colonel 
Waddell  was  requested  by  Governor  Dobbs  to  order  out  the 
militia  of  Orange,  Rowan  and  Anson  counties  and  join  the 
militia  with  his  regular  troops  and  march  to  the  aid  of  the 
South  Carolina  Governor.  But  the  great  body  of  the  militia 
refused  to  leave  the  borders  of  the  province,  only  eighty  out 
of  five  hundred  militiamen  remaining  with  Colonel  Wad- 
dell ;  the  others  either  deserted  or  went  home  without  leave, 
an  action  on  their  part  which  Governor  Dobbs  attributed  to 
lack  of  education  and  schools  and  a  pious  clergy.  Waddell's 
remaining  force  was.  however,  met  and  turned  back,  as 
Governor  Lyttleton  had  made  peace  with  the  Indians  and 
no  fighting  became  necessary,  the  treaty  being  signed  Octo- 


INDIANS  OF  THIS  SECTION.  13 

ber  26,  1759.  The  Indians  soon  broke  this  peace,  the  gar- 
rison at  Prince  George  Fort,  where  the  Cherokee  chiefs  were 
imprisoned  as  hostages,  being  enticed  away  and  murdered. 
This  was  the  signal  for  a  general  Cherokee  uprising,  and 
massacre  and  assassination  began.  The  Creeks  were  drawn 
into  the  war.  Fort  Loudon  fell  and  the  frontiers  of  this 
province  were  again  at  the  mercy  of  the  Cherokees. 

In  1760  the  Cherokee  depredations  forced  the  Moravians 
to  guard  their  town  day  and  night.  Refugee  settlers  in  large 
numbers  crowded  into  Bethabara,  which  forced  the  building 
of  Bethany,  three  miles  from  Bethabara,  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  these  refugees  and  the  protection  of  the  Moravians 
themselves.  Only  extreme  vigilance  and  the  constant  ring- 
ing of  the  church  bells  prevented  an  Indian  attack.  But  the 
Cherokees  were  not  content  to  rob  and  murder  the  frontier 
people  and  to  threaten  the  Moravians  and  their  refugees; 
they  openly  attacked  Fort  Dobbs  February  27,  1769,  and 
were  repulsed  by  Waddell  and  his  garrison.  Ten  or  twelve 
Indians  were  killed  or  wounded,  one  white  boy  was  killed 
and  two  white  men  were  wounded,  one  of  whom  was 
scalped. 

These  events  determined  the  whites  to  put  an  end  to  In- 
dian outrages.  Troops  from  Virginia  and  both  Carolinas 
were  assembled,  the  North  Carolina  troops  under  Waddell. 
The  Virginians  and  North  Carolinians  entered  the  upper 
Cherokee  country,  while  Colonel  Grant,  with  the  South  Car- 
olinians, entered  the  lower  country  of  the  Cherokees.  Grant's 
forces  met  the  Indians  near  the  present  town  of  Franklin 
and  defeated  them.  During  the  next  month  the  whites  de- 
stroyed the  Indian  towns  and  corn  fields  and  inflicted  such  a 
heavy  blow  upon  the  Cherokee  nation  that  it  was  forced  to 
sue  for  peace.  This  Indian  campaign  of  1761  broke  for- 
ever the  power  of  the  Cherokees  and  reduced  their  strength 
so  much  that  they,  like  the  Catawbas,  became  friends  of  the 
whites,  as  they  knew  it  was  now  to  their  advantage. 

These  Indian  troubles  had  continued  for  seven  years. 
Many  of  the  settlers  were  driven  away,  some  were  killed, 


14  HISTORY    or    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

Others  were  scali^ed.  Farming  and  home-building  were 
much  retarded,  and  new  settlers  who  would  ha\e  moved  in 
from  Pennsylvania  and  other  colonies  were  frightened  away. 
It  was  not  until  the  beginning  of  1763  that  the  frontier  ])eo- 
ple  began  to  take  up  life  again  where  it  had  l)een  interrupted, 
and  the  militia  of  Mecklenburg  and  adjoining  counties 
could  be  said  to  l^e  able  once  more  to  feel  that  Indian  troubles 
had  ended. 


CHAPTER   III. 

EARLY  SETTLERS.      (1740  to  1762.) 

Original  Homes  of  the  Immigrants — Their  Nationalities — Traits  of 
Character — Religious  Persecutions  in  the  Old  Country,  and  Sub- 
sequent Removal  to  America  and  Mecklenburg  County. 

Immigrants  to  Mecklenburg  county  came  from  three  direc- 
tions. One  wave  rolled  southward  from  Western  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Virginia — the  Scotch-Irish,  who  had  had  large 
experience  in  the  selection  of  good  lands.  These  were  fol- 
lowed closely  by  the  Germans  from  the  same  region,  who 
settled  mainly  the  territory  now  occupied  by  Cabarrus,  Lin- 
coln and  Gaston  counties,  but  who  also  peopled  Mecklen- 
burg proper  and  passed  over  into  South  Carolina  with  the 
Scotch-Irish,  settling  the  northwestern  portion.  This  wave 
of  immigrants  was  met  by  another  wave  a  little  later  from 
the  south,  coming  by  way  of  Charleston  and  Georgetown — a 
mixed  multitude  of  English,  Scotch,  Germans,  Huguenots 
and  Swiss,  who'  found  in  the  low  country  by  the  sea  too  great 
a  contrast  to  their  own  mountain  homes.  While  these  two 
waves  were  mingling,  the  third  wave  rolled  in  from  the  east, 
mainly  English,  and  finding  the  best  lands  taken,  settled  the 
next  best  or  passed  through  into  the  lands  to  the  west  and 
south.  The  sections  which  were  settled  by  these  different 
peoples  retain  the  traces  of  nationality  in  their  names  and  in 
the  churches ;  the  Scotch-Irish  and  Huguenots  with  the  Eng- 
lish dissenters  uniting  to  build  Presbyterian  churches,  while 
the  Lutheran  and  German  Reform  churches  mark  the 
German  settlements.  By  the  beginning  of  the  Revolutionary 
War  the  representatives  of  these  different  nationalities  were 
fast  intermingling  by  marriage. 

A  petition  to  the  Council  concerning  the  lands  which  were 
at  first  considered  in    Mecklenburg   and  then  were  put  in 


1 6  IIISTOKV    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

South    Carolina   show    140   names   of   English   origin.    47 
Scotch,  7  German  and  6  French. 

In  1755,  Governor  Dobbs  visited  the  present  county  of 
Cabarrus,  where  he  owned  large  tracts  of  land,  and  he  found 
seventy-five  families  already  settled  on  his  lands.  He  re- 
ported that  these  families  contained  eight  or  ten  children 
each,  and  that  some  "Irish  Protestants"  had  settled  together 
in  order  to  have  a  preacher  and  a  school  teacher  of  their 
own.  There  were  also  twenty-two  German  and  Swiss  fam- 
ilies on  his  lands.  The  actual  settling  of  Mecklenburg 
county  by  permanent  home-seekers  began  about  174S. 
From  that  time  on  a  stream  of  settlers  poured  in  from  the 
north.  In  1754,  they  had  settled  on  Broad  river  and  were 
asking  for  protection  from  the  Indians.  In  1757  the  Selwyn 
tracts  of  land,  one  of  which  is  now  partly  occupied  by  the  city 
of  Charlotte,  contained  something  less  than  400  souls. 

In  1755,  Rev.  Hugh  McAden  made  a  missionary  visit 
through  Mecklenburg.  He  found  the  Scotch-Irish  settled 
at  Rocky  River.  Sugar  Creek,  in  the  Waxhaws,  and  on  what 
is  now  Broad  river,  in  South  Carolina.  The  earliest  land 
grants  are  dated  1749,  but  between  1750  and  1758  many 
hundreds  of  such  grants  were  issued.  There  was  probably 
only  a  short  time  generally  between  the  issuing  of  the  grant 
and  the  settlement  of  the  land.  Rocky  river  and  its  tributa- 
ries were  the  first  water  courses  occupied  by  the  settlers,  and 
by  1762  all  the  streams  mentioned  in  the  first  chapter  are 
recorded  in  land  grants,  patents  and  deeds. 

To  understand  and  appreciate  the  history  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Mecklenburg,  we  must  know  something  of  the 
origin  and  history  of  these  early  settlers.  John  Knox, 
the  great  Scottish  reformer,  was  not  only  the  apostle 
of  religion,  but  of  liberty  as  well,  to  his  people.  When 
he  said,  "If  princes  exceed  their  bounds  they  may  be 
resisted  by  force,"  he  set  the  rights  of  the  people  over 
against  the  right  claimed  for  the  king  and  sometimes 
called  the  "Divine  right  of  kings.''     Mr.  Froude  calls  this 


EARLY   SETTLERS.  1 7 

saying  "the  creed  of  republics  in  its  first  hard  form."  Knox 
was  also  .the  apostle  of  popular  education.  Carlyle  says  of 
him :  "He  sent  the  schoolmaster  into  all  corners,  saying, 
'let  the  people  be  taught.'  "  Scotland  was  a  different  land 
after  the  life  and  labors  of  John  Knox. 

In  the  reign  of  James  the  First,  of  England  and  Scotland, 
two  Irish  nobles  rebelled  against  him,  and  the  king  took  pos- 
session of  their  lands  in  the  north  of  Ireland.  He  wished  to 
settle  this  region,  about  half  a  million  acres  of  land,  with 
Protestants,  to  balance  the  Catholic  power  which  held  the 
rest  of  Ireland,  and  sO'  he  offered  inducements  to  the  Scotch 
to  emigrate  to  North  Ireland.  This  country  was  called  Ul- 
ster. Rev.  Andrew  Stewart,  one  of  their  ministers,  wrote: 
"The  king  had  a  natural  love  to  have  Ireland  planted  with 
Scots,  as  being  of  a  middle  temper,  between  the  English 
tender  and  the  Irish  rude  breeding,  and  a  great  deal  more 
likely  to  adventure  to  plant  Ireland." 

The  Scotch  emigrated  to  Ireland  in  great  numbers.  In 
the  first  fifty  years  of  their  settling  they  numbered  200,000. 
By  the  beginning  of  the  Eighteenth  century  they  numbered 
a  million,  and  they  carried  with  them  to  Ireland  their  fond- 
ness for  education  and  their  love  of  liberty.  They  were 
thrifty  and  industrious  and  they  prospered.  Their  prosper- 
ity excited  the  jealousy  of  their  English  rivals  in  manufac- 
tures, and  the  British  Parliament  began  to  pass  laws  re- 
stricting their  woolen  trade,  so  the  Scotch-Irish,  as  they  were 
afterwards  called,  began  to  leave  Ireland.  In  1698,  20,000 
of  them  left  Ulster  for  America.  Not  content  with  oppres- 
sive taxation,  the  Parliament  began  to  interfere  with  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Ulsterites.  They  were  forbidden  to  have  school 
teachers  of  their  own  and  forbidden  to  hold  any  office  higher 
than  that  of  petty  constable.  Their  ministers  v^ere  forbidden 
to  perform  the  marriage  ceremony,  and  when  they  did,  the 
marriage  was  declared  to  be  illegal.  So  the  Scotch  left 
their  Irish  home  in  an  exodus  that  has  been  compared  to 
the  exodus  of  the  Israelites  from  Eg}'pt. 


l8  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

In  1727  six  emigrant  ships  full  of  Scotch-Irish  arrived  at 
Philadelphia  in  one  week,  and  all  through  the  hrst  lialf  of 
the  Eighteenth  century  it  was  not  uncommon  for  two  or 
three  emigrant  ships  a  day  to  reach  America  from  Ireland. 
Then  just  a  little  after  Mecklenburg  county  was  organized, 
the  rents  of  the  tenants  who  were  left  in  Ireland  were  raised 
and  thousands  of  them  driven  from  their  farms  by  force. 
Two  years  after  this,  30,000  Scotch-Irish  came  to  America 
in  one  year. 

Some  of  them  went  to  New  England  and  settled  there. 
There  was  one  Scotch-Irish  church  which  had  750  meml^ers. 
They  settled  a  good  part  of  New  York.  They  peopled  New 
Jersey.  They  took  possession  of  the  Quaker  City,  Philadel- 
phia, and  filled  up  Western  Pennsylvania,  with  Pittsburg  as 
the  centre  of  their  colony.  Then  as  the  Pennsylvania  lands 
were  taken,  they  moved  southward  and  westward.  They 
were  among  the  pioneer  settlers  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee. 
They  occupied  the  fertile  Valley  of  Virginia  and  peopled  the 
western  counties  so  that  they  soon  outvoted  their  cavalier 
brethren  in  the  eastern  counties.  Thomas  Jefferson  said  of 
Patrick  Henry,  whom  he  styled  "Our  leader  in  the  measures 
of  the  Revolution  in  Virginia,"  that  "his  influence  was  most 
extensive  with  the  members  from  the  upper  counties." 

As  these  upper  counties  of  Virginia  were  filled  and  the 
best  lands  taken,  the  Scotch-Irish  moved  southward,  as  we 
have  seen,  into  North  Carolina,  through  Guilford.  Orange, 
Alamance,  Rowan,  Iredell,  Cabarrus  and  Mecklenburg  coun- 
ties. Mecklenburg  was  the  centre  of  this  emigration  south- 
ward from  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania.  Evervwhere  these 
Scotch-Irish  people  were  advocates  of  education  and  of  lib- 
erty. When  we  come  to  Revolutionary  times,  we  learn  that 
the  great  majority  of  the  patriots  in  New  York  were  Scotch- 
Irish  ;  that  the  Scotch-Irish,  numbering  in  Pennsylvania  a 
third  of  the  whole  population,  stood  as  a  unit  for  independ- 
ence and  contributed  a  majority  of  the  troops  of  the  Key- 
stone State.     General  Washington  said  that  if  he  had  been 


EARLY   SETTLERS.  I9 

defeated  at  Yorktown,  he  would  have  fallen  back  upon  the 
Scotch-Irish  of  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  We  shall  see  that  the 
Scotch-Irish  of  Mecklenburg  were  of  the  same  spirit,  and 
simply  gave  earlier  expression  to  it  than  their  brethren  else- 
where. 

The  first  Germans  known  to  have  reached  this  section 
were  three  young  farmers.  They  were  all  probably  Re- 
demptioners.  This  term  was  used  in  connection  with  white 
apprentices,  and  afterwards  applied  to  poor  emigrants  who 
were  not  able  to  pay  their  passage  to  America  and  were  will- 
ing to  enter  into  contracts  in  order  to  pay  back  the  funds  ad- 
vanced for  their  passage  across  the  ocean.  The  names  of 
these  three  Germans  were  Barringer,  Smith  and  Dry.  When 
they  had  worked  out  their  terrri  of  service  they  started  on 
their  perilous  march  from  Pennsylvania  to  the  South,  pass- 
ing by  a  savage  Indian  camp  and  the  French  frontiersmen, 
following  the  old  buffalo  trail,  known  as  the  Indian  trading 
path,  until  they  reached  the  Yadkin  at  the  trading  fort;  but 
when  they  crossed  the  Yadkin  they  were  surprised  to  find 
that  the  Scotch-Irish  were  just  ahead  of  them,  having  taken 
up  the  choicest  spots  up  and  down  the  Catawba;  so  these 
Germans  turned  to  the  left,  following  the  right  bank  of  the 
Yadkin,  and  finally  located  on  the  high  ground  between  the 
present  Cold  Water  and  Buffalo  creeks.  This  was  then 
Bladen  county. 

About  the  year  1745  the  news  of  the  good  land  of  free- 
dom went  back  .to  Pennsylvania  and  then  reached  the  mil- 
lions of  the  Fatherland.  They  came  from  all  directions, 
chiefly  from  Pennsylvania,  but  often  from  Charleston  and 
Wilmington,  settling  the  northeastern  borders  of  Mecklen- 
burg as  well  as  Rowan  and  Stanly.  These  Germans  came 
from  the  upper  regions  of  Germany,  Wurtenburg,  Baden, 
and  especially  from  the  Palatinate,  which  had  been  so  merci- 
lessly ravaged  by  Louis  the  Sixteenth.  They  were  intelligent, 
labor  loving,  industrious  Protestants,  who  fled  from  persecu- 
tion.   They  built  their  houses  here  on  high  ground,  often  on 


20  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

the  tops  of  the  hills,  after  the  fashion  of  the  ancient  German 
castles.  They  were  hardy,  self-reliant,  frugal  and  courageous. 
They  clung  to  Luther's  translation  of  the  Bible.  They  tol- 
erated no  idlers  among  them.  The  children  were  trained 
and  skilled  in  all  hard  labor  and  handicraft,  and  they  de- 
fended their  homes  heroically  when  they  were  summoned 
to  vindicate  the  rights  which  they  had  secured.  They  took 
part  in  almost  every  expedition  against  the  Indians,  and  a 
very  active  part  in  General  Rutherford's  march  against 
the  Cherokees  in  1776,  a  young  German  called  Matthias 
Barringer  being  one  of  the  very  few  killed.  The  Germans 
traded  with  Salisbury  on  the  north  and  with  Cross  Creek, 
now  Fayetteville,  on  the  east,  rather  than  Charleston.  They 
did  not  figure  as  prominently  in  the  affairs  in  which  Char- 
lotte was  concerned  on  account  of  the  rivalry  which  grew 
up  between  the  Charlotte  and  Cabarrus  sections. 

These  German  Protestants  respected  just  authority,  were 
God-fearing,  peaceful  and  law-abiding.  They  had  their 
sports  and  their  amusements,  their  Easter  holiday  and  their 
Chris  Cringle  frolics.  They  were  guiltless  of  dissipation 
and  debauchery,  and  even  their  amusements  partook  rather 
of  skill  and  labor  than  of  useless  sport.  Their  quiltings,  corn 
shuckings,  log  rollings,  house  raisings,  all  tended  to  develop 
manliness  and  womanliness  as  well  as  to  cultivate  the  social 
virtues.  Their  family  government  was  excellent,  combining 
for  them  the  State,  the  Church  and  the  School,  and  their 
thrift  and  economy  laid  the  foundations  for  comfort  and 
wealth. 

The  French  settlers  were  mostly  Huguenots  who  were 
also  the  victims  of  religious  persecution  in  the  Old  World 
and  sought  freedom  of  conscience  in  the  New.  The  Swiss 
were  from  the  Palatinate  and  near  akin  to  their  German 
neighbors  in  religious  belief.  A  large  colony  of  Swiss  in 
South  Carolina  was  almost  destroyed  by  the  fev^r  of  the 
lowlands  near  the  coast,  where  they  first  settled,  and  the  men- 
tion of  the  Swiss  families  by  Governor  Dobbs  is  probably  the 


EARLY   SETTLERS.  21 

explanation  of  what  became  of  the  survivors.  They  would 
naturally  tend  toward  the  hill  country,  as  more  nearly  like 
their  own  home. 


Authority : — General   Rufus    Barringer's    Address    and 
Wheeler's  Sketches  and  Old  Records. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

INDUSTRIES   AND   CUSTOMS.      (1745   to    1762.) 

How  the  Settlers  Built  Their  Homes— Their  First  Mills  and  Occu- 
pations— Trading — Social  Life  and  Diversions. 

The  early  settlers  of  Mecklenburg  were  not  idlers  and 
many  of  them  were  skilled  in  various  industrial  arts.  They 
had  everything-  to  do  for  themselves  in  the  wilderness  in 
which  tliey  made  their  home.  When  they  came,  there  were 
no  cleared  fields,  no  roads,  no  schools  or  churches,  no  mills  to 
grind  their  corn  and  wheat,  no  shops  to  make  their  hoes  and 
plows  and  axes,  and  not  even  houses  to  shelter  them.  There 
were  no  saw  mills  and  no  brickyards.  But  the  settlers  had 
something  that  was  even  better  than  the  possession  of  all 
these  things.  They  had  the  knowledge  and  the  skill  to  make 
the  wilderness  blossom  as  the  rose.  They  knew  how  to  make 
things  and  they  made  them. 

As  early  as  1750,  some  of  them  were  doing  business  with 
Charleston.  In  order  to  buy  what  they  could  not  make,  they 
must  have  something  to  sell.  They  sent  to  Charleston  over 
an  Indian  trail,  which  passed  near  Charlotte  and  which  is 
now  the  route  of  the  Charlotte  &  Columbia  Railroad,  the 
products  which  their  cattle  yielded — tallow,  cheese,  butter 
and  hides.  Then  as  they  began  to  raise  grain  and  fruits, 
they  manufactured  whiskey  and  brandy.  With  these  they 
bought  in  Charleston  salt,  iron,  and  household  goods,  with 
now  and  then  a  slave  to  help  in  the  work  on  the  plantation. 
As  the  farmers  could  not  afford  to  go  to  Charleston  often, 
there  began  to  be  built  country  stores  in  the  dififerent  neigh- 
borhoods— in  Paw  Creek,  Hopewell,  Steele  Creek,  Provi- 
dence. Sugar  Creek,  Rocky  River. 

The  people  made  their  own  hats  and  shoes,  and  wove  their 
own  cloth.  They  were  hatters  and  shoemakeis  and  weavers 
and  tailors.     They  raised  indigo  for  dyeing.     They  raised 


INDUSTRIES   AND   CUSTOMS.  23 

flax  and  made  it  into  linen.  They  raised  tobacco  and  it  be- 
came quite  a  profitable  crop,  as  the  world  was  then  learning 
how  to  smoke.  But  at  first  it  was  easier  to  raise  cattle  than 
anything  else,  and  the  settlers  not  only  sent  them  to  Charles- 
ton, but  drove  them  to  Philadelphia.  Later  Virginia  bought 
all  the  cattle  sent  northward. 

These  pioneer  settlers  slept  in  their  wagons  until  they 
built  a  house  to  shelter  them,  cutting  down  the  trees  of  the 
forest  and  hewing  the  logs  into  shape.  They  daubed  the 
spaces  between  the  logs  with  clay  and  covered  the  roof  with 
boards  riven  out  of  the  logs.  These  houses  had  one  room 
and  one  door  and  one  window.  Sometimes  the  people  could 
afford  a  glass  window.  Generally  they  let  in  the  air  with  the 
light  and  shut  out  both  with  a  wooden  shutter.  When  they 
did  not  have  planks  for  a  floor,  they  used  the  floor  they 
found  there — the  ground.  Inside  the  house  were  probably 
two  beds,  a  trunk,  some  pewter  dippers  and  plates,  a  dozen 
spoons,  some  wooden  trenchers  and  piggins,  and  a  few  stools 
or  chairs.  The  farmer  would  have  a  few  plow  irons,  a  hoe 
or  two,  a  mattock,  some  harrow  teeth,  an  axe,  a  broad-axe, 
an  iron  wedge,  two  or  three  mauls,  a  chisel,  and  an  auger. 
These  were  all  he  needed  at  first,  and  he  brought  them  with 
him  from  North  or  South.  He  would  have  fifty  head  of  cat- 
tle, three  or  four  horses,  twenty  hogs,  and  a  few  sheep  and 
geese.  The  sheep  gave  their  wool  and  the  geese  their  feath- 
ers to  make  the  folk  comfortable  by  day  and  night.  When 
the  family  began  to  buy  cups  and  saucers,  and  glass  and 
china  ware  from  Charleston,  they  were  considered  wealthy. 

The  things  they  brought  with  them  began  to  wear  out  and 
so  the  blacksmiths  built  their  shops,  and  the  weavers  set  up 
their  looms  and  the  tailor  brought  out  his  goose.  And  the 
hides  were  not  all  carried  to  Charleston  to  trade  for  leather, 
but  tanneries  were  built  to  make  leather  at  home.  Then  rude 
mills  were  set  up  on  the  water  courses  to  grind  the  wheat  and 
corn,  and  the  carpenters  and  blasksmiths  together  built  saw 
mills  to  turn  the  logs  into  boards.  One  of  the  first  saw^ 
mills  and  flour  mills  was  built  on  Rocky  river  and  owned  by 


24  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

Moses  Alexander.  Richard  Barry  had  a  tanvard  in  opera- 
tion in  Hopewell.  Thomas  Polk  had  a  saw  mill  and  grist 
mill  near  Charlotte  before  1767.  The  mills  did  a  good  busi- 
ness and  leather  and  flour  began  to  be  sold  in  Charleston  in- 
stead of  hides  and  wheat.  The  settlers  were  learning  tiie 
great  law  of  prosperity — that  they  could  keep  their  money  at 
home  by  manufacturing  things  for  themselves  and  that  the 
manufactured  products  brought  more  money  in  the  markets 
than  the  raw  i)roducts. 

In  January,  1767,  John  McKnitt  Alexander  made  "a 
great  coat"  for  Andrew  Bowman,  which  had  nine  large  and 
three  small  Inittons,  the  seam  sewed  and  the  button  holes 
worked  witli  mohair  thread.  Three  yards  and  three  inches 
of  broadcloth  were  used,  costing  two  pounds  and  fifteen  shil- 
lings ;  the  buttons  and  thread  cost  two  shillings.  The  charge 
for  making  the  coat  was  seven  shillings,  and  Mr.  Bowman 
was  no  doubt  sumptuously  arrayed  when  he  donned  this  rai- 
ment. The  women  made  all  their  own  dresses  and  the  mate- 
rial for  them.  They  spun  the  wool  and  cotton  and  wove  it 
into  linsey  and  checks  and  colored  it  according  to  their  own 
fancy.  When  Jeremiah  McCafiferty  set  up  his  store  in  Char- 
lotte, in  1770,  he  sold  persian,  camblett,  mits,  forrest  cloth, 
oznaburgs,  and  calico.  But  with  calico  at  eight  shillings  a 
yard,  these  were  materials  that  only  the  wealthy  could  afford. 
Buttons,  thread  and  pins  were  very  costly,  and  the  house- 
wives had  to  be  very  economical  with  salt  and  sugar,  as  they 
were  high  priced  and  difficult  to  get. 

Early  title-deeds  show  the  occupations  of  the  people  who 
bought  and  sold  the  lands  in  Mecklenburg,  and  it  is  re- 
corded that  these  hardy  pioneers  were  weavers,  joiners, 
coopers,  wheelwrights,  wagon  makers,  tailors,  .  teachers, 
blacksmiths,  hatters,  merchants,  laborers,  wine  makers,  min- 
ers, rope  makers,  surveyors,  fullers  and  "gentlemen."  "Gen- 
tlemen" denoted  then  a  certain  rank  rather  than  the  posses- 
sion of  certain  qualities.  The  first  Mecklenburgers  were  pro- 
ducers. They  believed  that  any  work,  so  it  were  faithfully 
and  honestly  done,  was  worth  doing,  and  that  manhood  was 


INDUSTRIES  AND   CUSTOMS.  25 

more  than  wealth.  Mecklenburg  could  have  existed  com- 
fortably cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  That  makes  a 
people  feel  independent.  And  when  a  man  has  built  his  home 
in  the  woods  with  his  own  hands,  and  furnished  it,  and 
cleared  his  own  little  plot  of  ground,  and  is  beginning  to  be 
comfortable,  he  does  not  feel  much  like  paying  taxes  out  of 
his  small  earnings  to  a  King  or  a  Parliament  over  the  seas, 
without  any  representation  in  the  matter  for  himself  and  his 
rights. 

Nearly  every  farm  had  a  distillery  for  turning  grain  and 
fruit  intO'  whiskey  and  brandy.  These  liquors  were  used 
freely  by  all,  but  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  the 
people  were  intemperate.  Spirits  were  deemed  a  necessity  on 
the  plantations.  It  was  cheaper  to  distill  than  to  buy.  More- 
over, the  distance  from  the  markets,  Charleston  being  the 
nearest,  was  so  great  that  it  was  easier  to  carry  the  products 
of  the  granaries  and  orchards  in  liquid  form  than  in  bulk. 
Every  teacher's  account  with  the  farmers  contains  a  credit 
of  whiskey,  and  the  preachers  were  also  temperate  drink- 
ers. Among  the  effects  of  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead,  sold 
at  his  sale,  were  a  punch  bowl  and  glasses.  One  custom  that 
seems  singular  to  us  was  the  use  of  liquor  at  funerals.  The 
people  came  a  long  distance  and  refreshments  were  served  at 
•the  graveyards  and  churches.  Whiskey  played  a  leading 
part  in  these  refreshments,  though  w^ine,  which  was  more 
expensive,  was  also  used.  In  1767,  seven  gallons  of  whiskey 
were  consumed  at  one  funeral,  costing  five  shillings  to  the 
gallon,  the  same  being  charged  to  the  estate.  Another  occa- 
sion on  which  whiskey  was  used  was  at  the  "vendue"  or  sale 
of  an  estate.  The  amount  of  whiskey  charged  to  the  estate 
varied  with  the  size  of  the  sale  and  the  number  in  attendance. 
It  seems  to  have  been  taken  for  granted  that  a  liberal  use  of 
the  beverage  would  be  repaid  in  the  higher  price  the  buyers 
would  bid  under  the  mellowing  effect  of  the  liquor. 

One  of  the  famous  institutions  of  these  early  days  was  the 
old  time  tavern.  The  taverns  sprung  up  along  all  the  pub- 
lic roads.     There  were  several  in  Charlotte.     There  was  a 


26  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

good  deal  of  travel  through  this  section,  between  the  North 
and  the  South,  from  early  times.  The  tavern  was  not  only  a 
lodging  place  where  meals  were  served,  but  a  public  house 
as  well,  where  all  kinds  of  liquors  were  served  and  where  the 
punch  bowl  was  an  indispensable  piece  of  furniture.  From 
the  variety  of  the  liquors  one  is  reminded  of  Dickens'  tales 
of  merry  England  in  the  stage  coach  days.  The  host  of 
these  early  days  was  a  genial  and  popular  fellow,  and  the 
tavern  became  a  meeting  place  for  the  men  of  the  commu- 
nity, where  they  exchanged  their  ideas  or  confirmed  their 
prejudices  as  the  case  might  be,  getting  now  and  then  from 
the  travelers  passing  through,  the  news  of  the  ( mtside  world. 

Horse  racing,  the  game  of  "long  bullets,"  shooting  matches 
and  other  outdoor  sports  of  like  nature  were  the  diversions 
for  the  early  settlers.  "Long  bullets"  was  a  famous  game, 
played  with  a  large  iron  ball,  the  effort  of  one  side  being  to 
keep  the  ball  from  passing  their  goal  and  at  the  same  time  to 
force  it  beyond  the  goal  of  the  adversary.  One  of  the  first 
ordinances  passed  by  the  town  of  Charlotte  forbade  this 
game  being  played  in  the  streets.  Betting  at  horse  races 
was  common,  there  remaining  to  this  day  evidences  of  money 
borrowed  on  occasions  of  this  kind  in  order  to  indulge  the 
gambling  propensity  at  Thom's  or  Campbell's  Race  Tracks. 
But  while  gambling  was  permitted,  profanity  was  sternly 
forbidden,  and  was  frequently  punished  by  the  county  courts. 
After  1774.  there  are  numerous  instances  of  people  being 
fined  for  profane  swearing,  the  amount  of  the  fine  depend- 
ing upon  the  number  of  oaths  of  which  the  culprit  was  con- 
victed. 

At  the  four  county  courts  each  year  people  came  together 
from  all  parts  of  the  county,  and  the  court  meetings  were 
great  occasions'  for  trading  wares  and  exchanging  views. 
Then  there  was  an  annual  election  of  the  members  of  the 
Provincial  Assembly,  which  was  the  signal  for  a  gathering 
of  all  the  leading  men.  The  most  prosperous  of  the  people 
frequently  visited  Charleston  and  even  Philadelphia,  and 
they  brought  back  with  them  newspapers  and  publications 


INDUSTRIES   AXD    CUSTOMS.  2/ 

of  the  day.  But  one  of  the  greatest  institutions  for  bring- 
ing the  people  together  was  the  muster.  While  this  was  at 
first  nominally  a  military  assembly,  it  soon  became  a  social 
and  political  occasion.  The  military  companies  were  kept 
in  efficient  condition  for  muster  day,  and  it  grew  to  be  the 
chief  opportunity  for  the  public  discussion  of  political  issues. 
Such  questions  as  theMcCulloh  land  disturbances,  the  bound- 
ary dispute,  the  vestry  and  marriage  acts,  the  Regulation 
troubles,  and  all  the  questions  relating  to  the  issues  between 
the  colonies  and  the  mother  country  were  discussed  at  the 
muster  meetings.  So  the  people  were  by  no  means  ill-in- 
formed as  to  what  was  going  on  in  the  world.  The  children 
generally  received  six  months  of  "schooling"  for  two  or  three 
years,  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution  there  was  a  fair 
number  of  college-bred  men  in  the  community,  perhaps  more 
in  proportion  to  the  population  than  at  present. 

The  first  settlers  of  the  county  from  Virginia  and  Penn- 
sylvania doubtless  brought  the  currency  of  those  colonies 
with  them,  and  this  was  probably  the  first  paper  money  put 
in  circulation  in  this  section.  The  "hard  money"  of  that 
day  consisted  of  English,  Spanish  and  German  coins,  with 
now  and  then  one  of  French  mintage.  From  the  account  of 
a  loan  to  Jean  Cathey  by  George  Cathey,  we  learn  that  "ten 
silver  dollars"  were  valued  at  four  pounds  English  money, 
while  "one  dubloone  in  gold"  was  worth  six  pounds.  After 
Charleston  became  the  principal  market  for  Mecklenburg, 
South  Carolina  currency  became  common,  but  there  was 
never  a  sufficient  volume  of  currency  for  the  needs  of  the 
population.  Chief  Justice  Hasell,  who  held  Salisbury  Court 
in  1776.  says  that  there  was  scarcely  any  specie  circulating 
among  the  people,  not  enough  to  pay  the  stamp  tax. 


Authority. — Countv  and  Private  Records. 


CHAPTER    V. 

FORMATION  OF  THE  COUNTY.     (1762.) 

Creation  of  Mecklenburg  from  Anson — Origin  of  the  Names  of  the 
County  and  the  City  of  Charlotte — Physical  Description  of  the 
Country  at  that  Time. 

In  North  Germany  are  two  little  duchies  that  go  by  the 
name  of  Mecklenburg,  Mecklenburg-Schwerin  and  Mecklen- 
burg-Strelitz.  From  Mecklenburg-Strelitz,  in  the  year  1761, 
went  a  young  princess  to  be  the  wife  of  George  the  Third 
and  Queen  of  England,  and  her  name  was  Charlotte.  The 
marriage  was  a  popular  one,  and  there  was  great  rejoicing 
in  England,  and  after  a  while  the  news  of  it  reached  the 
Piedmont  section  of  North  Carolina,  where  the  i)eople  were 
just  about  to  make  two  counties  out  of  one.  The  name  of 
the  old  county  was  Anson,  named  for  the  Admiral  Anson 
whose  good  ship  carried  the  young  princess,  Charlotte,  to 
England.  The  new  county  was  named  Mecklenburg  in 
honor  of  the  queen  who  had  come  from  old  Mecklenburg, 
in  Germany,  and  to  do  her  still  more  honor,  they  called  their 
town  Charlotte.  It  must  have  been  very  pleasant  to  the  king 
to  think  how  loyal  to  the  mother  country  and  the  royal  fam- 
ily were  the  people  of  }klecklenburg  and  its  "Queen  City"  of 
Charlotte,  in  St.  George's  Parish,  in  the  Colony  of  North 
Carolina.  It  was  his  OAvn  fault  if  he  afterwards  had  cause 
to  change  his  mind  about  them. 

The  year  1761  was  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  world. 
England  and  France  had  been  fighting  on  land  and  on  sea, 
and  some  of  the' land  fighting  had  been  done  in  America. 
During  the  war  the  Americans  learned  that  they  could  fight 
as  well  as  or  better  than  the  English  soldiers  could  in  this 
wild  forest-land.  In  the  year  1762,  the  war  was  finished  and 
the  Treaty  of  Paris  was  signed.  By  that  treaty  the  French 
practically  gave  up  North  America  to  the  British,  and  Spain 


Cm  a  r  l-Otte; 

Princess    of    Mecklenburg. 

Later  Queen  of  England  by  marriage  io  George  [D. 

Hence  Cha  riotte.  Queen  City.  Mecklenburg  County. 

North     Carouin/^ 

Copyrii|ht    1901    by    D  A.TompUi  ns 


FORMATION  OF  THE  COUNTY.  29 

gave  England  part  of  Florida  in  return  for  Havana,  in  Cuba. 
The  colonists  observed  another  thing  in  the  war,  and  that 
was  that  they  were  not  so  dependent  as  before  upon  the  pro- 
tection of  the  mother  countr}^  now  that  the  French  armies 
did  not  threaten  them.  They  began  tO'  talk  more  independ- 
ently. In  England,  there  was  at  that  time,  and  is  now,  an 
"Established  Church"  supported  by  taxes  levied  on  the  peo- 
ple. This  was  the  Church  of  England,  or  what  is  now  known 
in  America  as  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church.  At  home,  its 
bishops  and  other  clergy  had  the  right  to  levy  church  taxes 
or  tithes,  and  this  system  was  put  into  operation  in  the  Amer- 
ican colonies.  The  next  year  after  the  passage  of  the  act  cre- 
ating Mecklenburg  county,  a  young  lawyer  stood  up  before 
the  judges,  in  Hanover  county,  Virginia,  to  defend  the 
rights  of  the  people  against  the  oppressive  taxation  by  the 
clergy.  His  name  was  Patrick  Henry,  and  the  jury  that 
heard  his  eloquent  defence  gave  the  parsons  "penny  dam- 
ages," and  the  brave  words  of  the  young  lawyer  rang 
throughout  the  colonies. 

Arthur  Dobbs  was  Governor  of  the  colony,  James  Hasell 
was  President  of  the  Council  and  John  Ashe  was  Speaker  of 
the  Assembly,  when  the  act  was  passed  creating  the  county 
of  Mecklenburg,  December  ii,  1762.  The  bill  had  been  in- 
troduced by  Anthony  Hutchins  intO'  the  Assembly,  accom- 
panied by  a  petition  "of  several  of  the  inhabitants  of  Anson 
county;"  and  Nathaniel  Alexander,  afterwards  Governor  of 
North  Carolina,  who  represented  the  Rocky  river  section, 
used  his  influence  in  having  the  wishes  oi  his  constituents 
carried  out  as  to^  the  new  county.  December  31,  of  the  same 
year,  at  the  meeting  oi  the  Governor's  Council,  Alexander 
Lewis,  Nathaniel  Alexander,  John  Thomas,  Robert  McClen- 
ahan,  Paul  Barringer,  Henry  Foster,  Robert  Miller,  Robert 
Harris,  Richard  Barry,  Martin  Phifer,  Robert  Ramsey, 
James  Robinson,  Matthew  Floyd,  Abraham  Alexander, 
Thomas  Polk  and  James  Patton,  were  appointed  His  Majes- 
ty's Justices  of  the  Peace  for  the  new  county,  and  they  rep- 
resented the  Rocky  River,  Clear  Creek,  Sugar  Creek,  Wax- 


30  lllSTOKV    UF    MUCKLKNBURG    COUNTY. 

haw,  Hoi)e\vell  and  Broad  River  settlements.  And  when, 
on  the  26th  of  February,  1763,  Moses  Alexander,  as  High 
Sheriff,  and  Robert  Harris,  as  Clerk  of  the  Court  and  Regis- 
ter of  Deeds,  took  charge  of  their  respective  offices,  the  his- 
tory of  the  county  may  be  said  to  have  begun. 

This  Piedmont  country  was  being  rapidly  settled,  and  the 
people  did  not  want  to  travel  so  far  to  the  county  seat  to  have 
their  legal  business  transacted.  So,  just  as  Anson  was  formed 
out  of  Bladen,  then  the  most  westerly  county,  and  just  as 
Rowan  and  Mecklenburg  grew  out  of  Anson,  so  in  Novem- 
ber, 1768,  a  bill,  introduced  by  Martin  Phifer,  was  passed 
dividing  the  original  Mecklenburg  county  into  two,  one 
called  Mecklenburg  county  and  St.  Martin's  Parish,  and  the 
other  Tryon  county  and  St.  Thomas'  Parish.  Later  still, 
in  1792,  Cabarrus  county  was  cut  off  from  Mecklenburg, 
and  again  in  1842,  Union  county  was  made  out  of  Meck- 
lenburg territory.  But  as  Mecklenburg  included  both  Ca- 
barrus and  Union  during  the  whole  Revolutionary  period, 
the  history  of  one  is  the  history  of  all  three. 

It  was  a  wild  and  strange  country  which  the  early  set- 
tlers found.  There  was  probably  little  cleared  land,  though 
some  accounts  speak  of  the  country  between  Sugar  creek 
and  Rocky  river  as  a  fertile  plain,  covered  with  pea  vines 
and  grass.  But  the  hills  and  probably  most  of  the  valleys 
were  covered  with  primeval  forests.  The  old  title-deeds 
mention  as  marks  on  the  dividing  lines,  an  ash,  an  oak,  post- 
oak,  white  oak,  black  oak,  red  oak  or  water  oak,  a  maple,  a 
poplar,  a  beech,  or  a  hickory.  Through  these  forests  roamed 
deer  and  buffalo,  and  in  the  dense  undergrowth,  panthers, 
wild-cats,  black  bears,  and  wolves  made  their  lairs.  There 
were  squirrels  and  turkeys  and  pheasants  in  abundance. 
There  were  beaver  dams  on  Paw  creek  and  Steele  creek. 
The  only  road  was  one  Indian  trail  through  Mecklenburg, 
from  the  Yadkin  river  to  the  Catawba  nation,  with  here  and 
there  the  beaten  path  of  the  buffalo  herds. 


Authority : — State  and  County  Records. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

BEGINNING   OF    CHARLOTTE.      (1762    to   1772.) 

Influences  Which  Tended  to  the  Necessity  for  a  Town— Difficulty  in 

Obtaining    a    Charter— The    First    Court    House— Laws   of    the  / 

Mecklenburg  county,  as  at  tirs.t  constituted,  contained  all 
of  the  present  county,  Cabarrus,  Gaston,  Lincoln  and  a  part 
of  Union.  The  total  area  was  four  or  five  times  as  great  as 
it  is  today.  In  1766,  the  population  of  Mecklenburg  was 
about  five  thousand,  and  this  grew  to  six  thousand  within  the 
next  two  years.  Increase  in  population  and  development  of 
the  natural  resources  were  rapid  and  continuous  after  gov- 
ernment was  firmly  established. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1765,  Henry  Eustace  McCulloh 
donated  a  tract  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land  to 
John  Frohock,  Abraham  Alexander  and  Thomas  Polk,  as 
commissioners,  to  hold  in  trust  for  the  county  of  Mecklen- 
burg, on  which  to  erect  a  court  house,  prison  and  stocks. 
McCulloh  was  the  agent  of  Augustus  Selwyn,  who  owned 
several  immense  tracts  of  land  on  a  grant  from  the  king, 
making  it  obligatory  upon  him  to  settle  them  with  an  aver- 
age of  one  person  to  every  two  hundred  acres.  He  foresaw 
that  the  interests  of  his  employer  would  be  advanced  by  the 
location  of  the  county  seat  on  his  land.  The  courts  before 
this  time  had  been  held  at  Spratts,  just  outside  the  present 
city  limits,  and  as  the  proposed  town  was  near  the  centre  of 
the  county,  circumstances  were  apparently  favorable  to  his 
plans,  but  objection  was  made  by  the  people  in  the  Rocky 
river  section,  who  desired  the  court  house  to  be  located 
nearer  to  them. 

The  first  representatives  of  Mecklenburg  in  the  General 
Assembly  were  Martin  Phifer,  from  Rocky  river;  and 
Thomas  Polk,  who  favored  the  new  town.     In  1766,  Mr. 


32  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

Phifer  introduced  a  bill  to  enable  the  commissioners  of 
Charlotte  tu  lay  off  the  town  in  squares  and  streets  and  lots, 
and  to  erect  a  court  house,  prison  and  stocks.  Nothing  was 
said  about  the  county  seat  or  where  courts  should  be  held, 
and  on  this  account,  the  bill  was  defeated  by  the  friends  of 
Charlotte  led  by  Polk. 

In  this  year,  there  was  a  large  increase  of  population  west 
of  the  Catawba  river,  and  a  new  county  was  proposed.  It 
was  evident  that  if  this  plan  succeeded,  Charlotte  would 
not  then  be  in  the  centre  of  Mecklenburg,  but  her  partisans, 
with  a  wise  foresight,  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity 
and  erected  a  court  house  at  their  own  expense.  The  build- 
ing was  erected  at  the  intersection  of  Trade  and  Tryon 
streets,  which  were  named  about  that  time,  and  was  in  the 
centre  of  the  square.  It  was  a  long  structure,  supported  by 
pillars  ten  feet  high,  and  a  stairway  was  on  the  outside;  the 
upper  room  was  for  court  and  public  meetings,  while  the 
space  below  was  used  for  a  market.  Martin  Pliifer,  how- 
ever, succeeded  in  having  passed  his  bill  creating  Tryon 
county,  but  Thomas  Polk  had  attached  to  it  an  amendment 
providing  that  the  courts  of  Mecklenburg  should  for  a  period 
of  seven  years  be  held  in  the  Charlotte  court  house.  It  is 
very  probable  that  the  county  seat  would  have  been  located 
elsewhere  had  there  not  been  a  court  house  already  built  in 
Charlotte. 

Previous  to  the  passage  of  this  bill,  all  efforts  to  have 
Charlotte  incorporated  had  failed,  but  the  objections  were 
now  withdrawn  and  the  bill  making  Charlotte  a  town  legally 
was  enacted  and  became  a  law  in  November.  1768.  This 
act  added  Richard  Barry  and  George  Allen  to  the  old  com- 
missioners, and  these  five  men  were  instructed  to  lay  off  one 
hundred  acres  of  the  town  in  half-acre  lots  and  to  carry  out 
the  requirements  of  the  charter,  but  no  provision  was  made 
for  ordinances  of  the  town  government.  Thomas  Polk  was 
required  to  give  a  bond  as  treasurer. 

The  law  stipulated  that  for  every  town  lot  taken,  an  an- 
nual rent  of  one  shilling  should  be  paid  to  the  town  treas- 


BEGINNING  Olf  CHARLrOTTi;.  33 

urer,  and  a  dwelling  should  be  erected  on  the  lot  within 
three  years  on  penalty  of  forfeiture.  Eighty  lots  had  already 
been  taken,  and  on  some  of  them  dwelling  houses  had  been 
built.  The  ordinary  house  was  made  of  sawed  or  hewn  logs, 
and  the  cracks  were  filled  with  mud  and  straw  or  sticks. 
There  was  one  large  room  twenty  feet  square,  with  high 
roof,  and  sometimes  the  bedrooms  were  partitioned  off  from 
this  room  with  curtains  or  planks.  Light  was  admitted 
through  one  window,  which  was  generally  closed  with  a 
wooden  shutter,  but  sometimes  with  glass  panes.  The  com- 
mon chimney  was  made  of  stones,  the  better  one  of  brick, 
and  the  poorer  one  of  logs  covered  on  the  inside  with  mud. 
The  roof  was  made  of  clap-boards  fastened  with  home-made 
iron  spikes  or  nails. 

Those  early  issues  of  our  history  occasioned  much  parti- 
san strife  and  considerable  bitterness.  In  1769.  Martin 
Phifer  was  succeeded  in  the  Assembly  by  Abraham  Alexan- 
der, who,  with  Thomas  Polk,  continued  to  represent  the 
county  until  1773,  when  they  were  succeeded  by  Martin 
Phifer  and  John  Davidson.  Mr.  Davidson  introduced  a  bill 
to  erect  a  permanent  court  house  at  Charlotte,  and  it  passed 
both  houses  of  the  Assembly,  but  was  vetoed  by  Governor 
Martin.  The  next  year,  Phifer  was  succeeded  by  Thomas 
Polk,  and  the  agitation  in  favor  of  Charlotte  continued.  The 
temporary  arrangement  of  seven  years  was  about  to  end  and 
some  action  was  necessary.  In  December,  1773,  Polk  intro- 
duced a  bill  making  Charlotte  the  permanent  county  seat  and 
providing  a  regular  town  government,  but  the  bill  was  not 
acted  upon  because  of  the  dismissal  of  the  Assembly  by  Gov- 
ernor Martin. 

Polk  re-introduced  the  bill  at  the  next  session,  and  it  be- 
came a  law  in  March,  1774.  Its  passage  settled  the  question 
for  all  time,  and  allayed  much  of  the  bitter  feeling  that  had 
been  engendered.  This  act  repealed  the  law  of  1768  requir- 
ing the  erection  of  a  building  on  every  town  lot,  unless  the 
lot  was  located  on  Tryon  or  Trade  street.  Jeremiah  McCaf- 
ferty,  William  Patterson  and  Isaac  Alexander  were  added  to 


34  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

the  commissioners  in  place  of  some  who  were  dead  or  re- 
moved from  the  province.  The  commissioners  were  given 
power  to  require  every  taxable  person  in  the  town  to  work 
on  the  streets  six  days  each  year;  any  one  failing  to  so  work 
was  to  be  fined  five  shillings  for  each  day  of  such  failure. 

Before  this  time  there  had  been  considerable  agitation  re- 
garding road-building,  and  efforts  had  been  made  to  have 
roads  laid  off  and  worked  from  Charlotte  .to  Charleston  and 
from  Charlotte  to  Fayetteville.  Commissioners  were  ap- 
pointed for  the  latter  work  in  1771,  and  others  were  put  in 
their  places  two  years  later. 

In  1774,  Charlotte  covered  less  than  one  hundred  acres 
of  land,  but  the  population  increased  steadily,  and  in  1778, 
the  law  was  revised  to  permit  the  laying  off  of  eighty  more 
lots,  as  all  the  original  ones  had  been  taken  and  most  of  them 
well  improved  with  good  buildings.  The  reasons  assigned 
for  the  growth  were  that  Charlotte  was  well  situated  for  the 
inland  trade  and  that  Liberty  Hall  drew  in  many  people  to 
educate  their  children. 

August  2,  1766,  Governor  Try  on  wrote  that  this  province 
was  being  settled  rapidly  and  that  more  than  a  thousand  emi- 
grant wagons  from  the  North  had  passed  through  Salisbury 
within  a  few  months.  These  settlers  were  reported  to  be 
strong,  healthy  and  industrious,  and  capable  of  various  occu- 
pations. 

The  government  of  Mecklenburg  was  vested  in  a  Sheriff, 
Clerk  of  the  Court  and  sixteen  Justices  of  the  Peace.  Char- 
lotte was  governed  by  the  Board  of  Town  Commissioners, 
but  it  seems  that  there  were  but  few  law-breakers,  for  the 
courts  were  occupied  almost  entirely  with  collecting  quit- 
rents  and  settling  disputes  regarding  conflicting  claims  to 
land. 


Authority : — Colonial  and  County  Records,  old  Deeds  and 
Official  Papers,  and  Hunter's  Sketches. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

EARLY  TROUBLES  AND  REGULATORS.      (1762  to  1772.) 

Annoyances  on  Account  of  a  Disputed  Boundary  Line — The  McCul- 
loh  Land  Riots — Surveying  the  Cherokee  Boundary — Oppres- 
sive Taxes  and  Unjust  Officers,  and  the  Battle  of  Alamance. 

When  Mecklenburg  county  was  created,  the  boundary 
hnes  were  not  definitely  determined.  The  line  between  North 
Carolina  and  South  Carolina  had  been  surveyed  toward  the 
west  only  so  far  as  the  Salisbury  and  Charleston  road,  near 
Waxhaw  creek.  This  left  in  dispute  practically  all  the 
southern  boundary  of  Mecklenburg,  and  troubles  of  various 
kinds  naturally  resulted. 

For  several  years,  the  sheriifif  of  Anson  had  been  openly 
defied.  On  one  occasion  he  raised  a  posse  to  assist  him,  and 
a  riot  resulted  that  continued  several  days,  during  which 
time  the  sheriff  was  captured  and  imprisoned.  The  people 
causing  this  disturbance  were  a  lawless  element  who  had  been 
driven  out  of  South  Carolina  and  other  provinces,  and  had 
drifted  to  this  region  because  of  the  protection  afforded  them 
by  the  disputed  boundary.  When  North  Carolina  sheriffs 
called  on  them,  they  plead  loyalty  to  South  Carolina,  and 
when  officers  from  that  section  called,  they  claimed  to  be  cit- 
izens of  North  Carolina.  A  militia  company  was  organized 
on  authority  of  a  commission  from  the  Governor  of  South 
Carolina.  There  were  in  the  unsettled  region  many  honest 
men  who  refused  to  pay  their  taxes  until  it  was  legally  de- 
termined to  which  province  they  owed  allegiance,  fearing 
that  if  they  paid  to  one,  they  would  be  later  forced  to  dupli- 
cate the  fees  to  the  other. 

In  June,  1764,  Henry  Eustace  McCulloh  came  to  Meck- 
lenburg to  survey  the  Selwyn  tracts  of  land,  to  grant  titles  to 
those  deserving  them  and  to  eject  those  who  refused  to  com- 
ply with  the  requirements.     When  he  arrived,  he  was  given 


36  HISTORY    OF    M1;CKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

to  understand  that  many  of  the  settlers  "would  hold  to  the 
South"  and  oppose  the  running-  of  any  lines,  and  was  threat- 
ened with  personal  violence  if  he  attempted  to  carry  out  his 
plans.  McCulloh  suggested  that  the  "South  Men"  hold  a 
meeting  and  select  a  committee  to  confer  with  himself  re- 
garding a  peaceable  adjustment  of  the  differences.  This  was 
accordingly  done,  and  the  committee,  composed  of  James 
Norris,  Thomas  Polk,  James  Flennegin  and  George  Allen, 
met  the  agent,  and,  after  a  long  conference,  reported  to  the 
people  they  represented  that  the  terms  proposed  by  Selwyn's 
agent  were  just  and  reasonable,  and  should  be  accepted. 

McCulloli  thought  the  troubles  were  now  settled,  and  left 
the  county,  intending  to  return  soon  and  complete  his  work, 
but  when  he  came  back  in  the  following  February,  he  dis- 
covered more  opposition  than  at  the  previous  time.  Large 
bodies  of  armed  men,  sometimes  numbering  two  hundred, 
and  usually  led  by  Thomas  Polk,  interfered  with  the  survey- 
ing parties,  broke  the  chains  and  continued  to  make  threats. 
One  party  of  good  men  who  were  surveying  on  one  of  the 
Selywn  tracts,  was  set  upon  and  beaten  severely.  McCulloh 
was  brave  and  persevering,  and  the  opposition  to  his  work 
began  to  weaken.  Thomas  Polk  was  the  only  really  able 
man  associated  with  the  "South  Men,"  and  he  appears  to 
have  done  so  in  order  to  force  the  attention  of  the  proper  au- 
thorities to  the  necessity  of  surveying  the  boundary  line.  In 
1765,  he  became  friendly  with  McCulloh  and  was  appointed 
one  of  Selwyn's  surveyors  for  this  county. 

Open  war  with  the  Cherokee  Indians  ended  in  1761,  but 
for  several  years  thereafter  great  annoyance  was  caused  b> 
the  lack  of  a  definite  dividing  line  between  Mecklenburg  and 
the  Cherokee  country.  In  May,  1767,  Governor  Tryon 
yielded  to  the  persistent  entreaties  and  marched  with  one 
hundred  men  to  perform  the  work.  The  troops  in  this  expe- 
dition were  commanded  by  General  Hugh  Waddell ;  and  Col- 
onel John  Frohock,  of  Rowan,  and  Colonel  Moses  Alexan- 
der, of  Mecklenburg,  were  among  the  subordinate  officers. 
While  this  survey  could  have  been  made  bv  half  a  dozen  men. 


EARLY  TROUBLES  AND  REGULATORS.  37 

yet  Governor  Tryon's  military  display  had  a  salutary  effect 
on  the  Indians,  who  cheerfully  accepted  the  line  as  run  and 
gave  no  further  trouble  until  the  white  people  began  once 
more  to  encroach  upon  their  territory.  The  Governor  was, 
nevertheless,  subjected  to  criticism  because  of  the  expense  of 
the  expedition,  which  some  attributed  solely  to  his  well- 
known  love  for  military  glory. 

William  Tryon,  in  his  first  public  utterance  as  Governor 
of  North  Carolina,  said  he  was  here  to  serve  the  people,  but 
his  actions  soon  gave  ample  proof  that  he  was  here  to  serve 
the  Lords  Proprietors  and  to  execute  their  wishes.  That  he 
did  his  duty  to  his  employers  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  nc 
one  can  deny;.  Just  as  he  was  ingratiating  himself  in  the 
good  graces  of  the  people,  he  was  called  upon  to  enforce  the 
provisions  of  the  Stamp  Act.  The  good  people  of  Eastern 
North  Carolina  attended  to  this  matter  so  that  it  never  much 
concerned  the  people  of  Mecklenburg,  but  it  had  two  results 
of  far-reaching  consequence  to  all  the  province.  First,  Gov- 
ernor Tryon  harshly  resolved  to  regain  the  lost  dignity  of  his 
administration  in  whatever  way  he  could ;  second,  the  people 
thereafter  looked  with  suspicion  upon  anything  originating 
with  the  Governor. 

The  trouble  which  culminated  in  the  battle  of  Alamance 
began  in  1761.  The  central  counties  complained  of  cruel 
snd  unjust  officers,  Tryon's  extravagance  in  building  his 
palace,  extortion,  corrupt  courts,  and  of  being  compelled 
to  pay  taxes  in  money  of  which  there  was  not  a  sufficient 
quantity  in  circulation.  These  charges  were  justified  in 
some  counties,  but  Mecklenburg  was  happily  free  from 
nearly  all  of  it.  This  county  had  not  been  established  long 
enough  for  the  Governor  to  fill  the  offices  with  his  favorites, 
so  the  sheriff  and  clerk  and  justices  were  among  the  most 
honored  and  trusted  men. 

Resistance  to  the  officers  in  Orange,  Anson.  Rowan  and 
other  counties  grew  until  it  assumed  a  serious  aspect.  Men 
who  were  unable  to  defend  themselves  alone,  banded  together 
for  self-protection  and  to  work  together  for  the  regulation 


38  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

of  the  injustices.  In  this  way  they  came  to  be  known  as 
Regulators.  From  this  state  of  affairs,  Herman  Husbandi, 
a  Quaker  preacher,  organized  the  discontented  men  into  a 
systematic  association.  Meetings  were  held  and  petitions 
presented  to  the  Governor,  but  they  were  refused  or  ignored. 

It  was  inevitable  that  unlawful  acts  should  result  from  the 
bitterness  between  the  opposing  parties.  One  day,  in  the 
summer  of  1768,  a  horse  was  taken  from  a  Regulator  who 
had  ridden  into  Hillsboro  on  business.  That  night  the 
friends  of  the  offended  man  regained  the  horse  by  force,  and 
the  same  night  some  one  fired  into  Edmund  Fanning's 
house.  Soon  thereafter  Husband^  and  several  other  Reg- 
ulators were  arrested  and  their  trial  set  for  the  September 
court.  Fanning  was  to  be  tried  at  the  same  time  for  collect- 
ing illegal  fees,  and  both  sides  to  the  controversy  expected 
trouble. 

In  August,  Governor  Tryon  came  to  Mecklenburg  to  re- 
view the  militia,  which  numbered  nine  hundred.  During 
his  stay  in  the  county  he  was  entertained  by  the  Alexanders 
and  Polks  and  other  good  families.  He  reviewed  the  troops 
and  secured  three  hundred  volunteers  to  go  to  Hillsboro  to 
maintain  order  during  the  sessions  of  court.  These  men 
began  the  march  September  12,  and  returned  in  October,  the 
expected  trouble  having  been  averted.  Husbands  w^is  ac- 
quitted of  the  charge  against  him  and  Fanning  was  found 
guilty,  but  was  let  off  with  a  nominal  fine.  Before  the  Meck- 
lenburg troops  disbanded,  they  w^ere  complimented  by  the 
Governor  for  their  splendid  behavior. 

The  situation  developed  steadily,  and  in  the  Spring  of 
1771.  each  side  prepared  for  a  final  test  of  strength.  Hus- 
bands, having  failed  to  get  satisfaction  by  law  and  petitions, 
determined  to  make  a  show  of  force.  Governor  Tryon  sent 
General  Hugh  Waddell  through  Rowan  and  Mecklenburg 
to  raise  troops  for  his  cause,  but  General  Waddell  obtained 
only  one  hundred  in  this  county.  These,  wnth  nearly  two 
hundred  Rowan  volunteers,  were  intercepted  at  the  Yadkin 


EARLY  TROUBLES  AND  REGULATORS.  39 

river  and  turned  back  by  a  superior  force  of  Regulators,  so 
they  did  not  join  the  Governor  until  after  the  battle. 

Meanwhile,  Governor  Tryon  was  marching  westward  / 
with  his  army  ten  or  twelve  hundred  strong.  On  the  17th 
of  May,  he  was  met  near  Alamance  creek  by  a  large  body  of 
the  Regulators  led  by  Husbands,  who  presented  the  cause  of 
his  followers.  Tryon  obstinately  refused  to  make  any 
promises  or  concessions,  and  seemed  resolved  to  fight,  even 
though  he  had  no  better  reason  than  to  send  back  to  Eng- 
land the  news  of  a  "glorious  victory." 

The  Regulators  outnumbered  Tryon's  soldiers,  but  the  lat- 
ter had  the  advantage  of  military  training  and  were  well 
armed.  Some  of  the  followers  of  Husbands  were  not  pre- 
pared for  battle,  and  none  of  them  had  more  than  a  dozen 
rounds  of  ammunition,  but  they  fought  like  men  until  all 
hope  was  gone.  After  the  battle  ended,  Governor  Tryon 
ordered  the  immediate  execution  of  a  half-witted  ignorant 
boy  named  James  Few,  and  six  of  the  prisoners  taken  were 
afterwards  hung  for  treason.  A  number  of  Mecklenburg 
men  were  in  the  ranks  of  the  Regulators,  but  as  they  had  no 
organization  among  themselves,  it  is  not  possible  to  estimate 
their  number. 

Mecklenburg  people  recognized  the  justice  of  the  cause 
for  which  the  Regulators  shed  .their  blood,  but  they  did  not 
deem  it  prudent  to  make  open  resistance  to  authority  at  that 
time.  The  Phifers,  Alexanders,  Polks  and  other  prominent 
citizens  were  not  the  kind  of  men  who  strike  without  care- 
fully  considering  the  consequences,  but  from  May  if,iyyi,  (» 
independence  of  thought  steadily  developed  into  independ- 
ence of  action. 

The  young  men  were  not  so  conservative  as  their  fathers, 
and  they  did  not  hesitate  to  express  sympathy  for  the  men 
who  were  struggling  against  oppression.  Col.  Moses  Alex- 
ander was  commissary  for  General  Waddell,  and  while  his 
wagons,  laden  with  powder,  were  passingthrough  the  county, 
they  were  captured  and  the  powder  was  destroyed  by  nine 
boys  who  have  since  been  known  as  "The  Black  Boys  of 


40  HISTORY    OF    MECKLENBURG    COUNTY. 

Mecklenburg."  They  blacked  their  faces  and  disguised 
themselves  as  Indians  before  attacking  the  wagons,  and  from 
this  they  gained  their  name.  These  boys  were  afterwards 
noble  soldiers  in  the  Revolution. 


Authority: — Colonial  Records,  Original  Official  Docu- 
ments, Court  and  County  Records,  Caruther's  Old  North 
State,  Waddell's  Address  on  the  Regulation,  and  Jones'  De- 
fense of  North  Carolina. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    APPROACHING    STORM.      (1772    to    1775.) 

England's  Position  With  Regard  to  America — Affairs  in  the  Colonies. 
— Governor  Martin's  Dissensions  With  the  Assembly — Rifle  Fac- 
tory in  Charlotte — Polk  Calls  the  Convention. 

When  Eng-land  was  confronted  by  the  American  disturl> 
ances,  it  was  not  the  first  time  she  faced  the  problem  of  con- 
cihating  a  discontented  dependency.  Three  precedents  by 
which  she  might  have  been  guided  were  the  reclamation  of 
Ireland,  Wales  and  Chester.  The  four  were  analogous 
cases,  each  being  governed  by  force  without  mercy  until  it 
became  apparent  that  such  government  was  hopeless;  then 
the  three  were  won  by  concessions  and  the  fourth  was  lost 
by  obstinacy. 

Throughout  the  colonies,  the  five  years  preceding  actual 
hostilities  was  a  time  of  emotion  and  intense  suspense.  The 
feelings  of  the  people  were  aroused  in  apprehension  of  the 
final  struggle  for  their  abstract  rights.  England's  import 
taxes  imposed  upon  .the  colonies  had  been  practically  sus- 
pended, but  the  Americans  were  plainly  told  that  it  was  for 
expediency  and  not  because  of  principle,  and  it  was  the  prin- 
ciple for  which  the  patriots  contended.  British  troops  were 
quartered  on  American  soil  at  the  beginning  of  1775,  and 
early  in  that  year  military  strength  superseded  civil  author- 
ity in  Massachusetts. 

When  Josiah  Martin  became  Governor  of  North  Carolina, 
in  1 77 1,  he  immediately  began  dissensions  with  the  Assem- 
bly. The  State's  finances  were  in  good  condition  and  some 
of  the  taxes,  being  plainly  unnecessary,  were  repealed  by  the 
Assembly.  Though  the  bill  was  passed  unanimously,  it  was 
promptly  vetoed  by  the  Governor,  and  from  that  time  forth 
he  waged  continual  war  with  the  representatives  of  the  peo- 
ple. 


42  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

The  Assembly  of  December,  1773,  was  dismissed  by  Gov- 
ernor Martin  after  having  been  in  session  only  a  few  days. 
Before  adjournment,  however,  a  committee  of  nine  good  cit- 
izens was  appointed  to  carry  on  correspondence  with  similar 
committees  in  the  other  provinces.  Martin  Phifer  and  Jolin 
Davidson,  representatives  of  Mecklenburg,  were  both  pres- 
ent at  this  session.  At  this  time,  Thomas  Polk  was  engaged 
in  the  work  of  surveying  the  boundary  line  between  North 
Carolina  and  South  Carolina. 

Governor  Martin  having  determined  that  no  more  Assem- 
blies should  convene  until  the  people  came  to  his  way  of 
thinking,  John  Harvey  was  authorized  to  call  a  congress  of 
the  people  Avhen  he  deemed  it  prudent.  Accordingly,  the 
call  was  issued  for  an  election  of  representatives  to  a  Pro- 
vincial Congress  to  meet  in  New  Bern  in  August  of  1774. 
Governor  Martin  was  astounded  at  this  bold  stroke,  but  his 
threats  were  unavailing  and  the  Congress  met  at  the  ap- 
pointed time.  Mecklenburg  county  was  represented  by 
Benjamin  Patton.  Richard  Caswell,  William  Hooper  and 
Joseph  Hewes  were  elected  delegates  to  the  Continental  Con- 
gress, which  met  in  Philadelphia,  but  at  the  same  time  a  res- 
olution was  adopted  declaring  loyalty  to  the  king. 

The  Governor  was  now  in  an  embarassing  situation  as  he 
felt  the  reins  of  government  slipping  through  his  fingers, 
and,  yielding  to  his  Council,  he  called  the  Assembly  to  meet 
in  New  Bern  in  April,  1775.  John  Harvey  called  the  second 
Provincial  Congress  to  meet  at  the  same  time  and  place. 
With  but  few  exceptions,  the  members  of  the  two  bodies 
were  the  same,  and  Harvey  was  Speaker  of  the  Assembly 
and  Moderator  of  the  Congress.  Nothing  w^as  accomplished 
at  this  session  except  the  return  of  the  same  delegation  to 
the  Philadelphia  Congress  and  the  agreement  of  the  mem- 
bers to  not  trade  with  British  ports.  Mecklenbr  g  was  not 
represented. 

Mecklenburg  people  had  distinguished  themselves  for  con- 
servatism, and  it  was  quite  evident  that  they  favored  no  of- 
fensive action  before  affairs  assumed  a  more  definite  shape. 


THE  APPROACHING   STORM.  43 

County  government  had  been  established  little  more  than  a 
decade,  the  homes  were  hewn  from  primitive  forests,  indus- 
tries were  developing,  and  just  as  the  people  were  pre- 
pared to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  liberty  and  abundance,  they 
were  loath  to  accept  the  rumors  of  war. 

They  were,  however,  thinking  of  the  issues  of  the  day  and 
were  preparing  to  meet  them.  Edmund  Burke,  in  his  speech 
on  "Conciliation,"  delivered  in  Parliament  March  22,  1775, 
ascribed  the  independence  of  Americans  politically  in  a  con- 
siderable degree  to  their  independence  in  religion.  If  it  be 
true  that  independence  was  more  rife  among  dissenters  than 
others,  this  partially  explains  the  action  of  Mecklenburg  in 
that  year,  for  it  is  probable  that  no  where  in  the  colonies 
did  the  Church  of  England  have  fewer  followers.  Both 
Governor  Martin  and  Governor  Tryon  wrote  of  the  discour- 
ao-ements  to  the  Church  in  this  section. 

One  phase  of  industry  which  had  much  influence  on  the 
trend  of  events,  was  the  development  of  the  rifle.  The  peo- 
ple of  this  region  needed  a  serviceable  weapon  for  aggressive 
use,  and  from  the  old  New  England  blunderbuss  they  devel- 
oped a  long,  well-made  rifle  that  was  inferior  to  none  in  the 
world.  At  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  there  were  only  three 
rifle  factories  in  the  colonies,  and  one  of  them  was  in  Char- 
lotte. The  iron  was  obtained  near  High  Shoals,  and  was 
blasted  there.  Then  the  barrel  was  shaped,  bored  carefully 
and  rifled.  The  wooden  stock  extended  clear  to  the  end  of 
the  barrel,  which  was  four  feet  in  length.  General  Wash- 
ington was  presented  with  one  of  these  Charlotte  rifles  in 
1787,  and  he  praised  it  very  highly.  The  excellence  of  the 
weapon  and  the  ability  with  which  it  was  used  played  an 
important  part  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution. 

It  had  now  become  apparent  to  all  observing  people  that 
a  rupture  f  the  ties  binding  the  colonies  to  England  was 
imminent.  Preparations  for  war  were  being  made  and  the 
Congresses  of  the  people  were  the  real  governing  bodies. 
Troops  were  being  massed  by  America  and  England,  but 
the  Continental  Congress  yet  asserted  loyalty  to  the  crown. 


44  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

and  Thomas  Jefferson  and  his  followers  were  endeavoring  to 
effect  a  compromise  with  the  mother  country. 

That  North  Carolina  was  among  the  foremost  advocates 
of  liberty  is  evidenced  by  a  letter  written  to  James  Iredell 
by  William  Hooper,  who  was  one  of  our  delegates  to  the 
Continental  Congress.  He  wrote,  April  26,  1774:  "With 
you  I  anticipate  the  important  share  the  colonies  must  soon 
have  in  regulating  the  political  balance.  They  are  striding 
fast  to  independence,  and  ere  long  will  build  an  empire  upon 
the  ruins  of  Great  Britain ;  will  adopt  its  Constitution  purged 
of  its  impurities,  and  from  an  experience  of  its  defects  will 
guard  against  the  evils  which  have  wasted  its  vigor  and 
brought  it  to  an  untimely  end." 

Governor  Martin  had  lost  all  control  of  the  government  of 
the  province  and  was  preparing  to  go  on  board  a  British 
man-of-war.  Rumors  were  rife  of  legislation  by  Parlia- 
ment that  would  subdue  the  colonies.  The  best  statesmen  of 
England  ralized  and  admitted  the  injustice  of  the  taxation 
of  people  by  a  governing  body  in  which  the  people  them- 
selves had  no  representative.  Yet  it  was  apparent  to  all  that 
the  participation  in  Parliament  of  far  distant  America  was  a 
practical  impossibility.  The  only  logical  alternatives  were 
self-government  with  a  mild  form  of  protection  or  absolute 
independence.  England  declined  to  concede  the  first;  Amer- 
ica fought  for  the  second. 

During  these  troublous  times,  the  Charlotte  court  house 
was  the  regular  meeting  place  for  the  men  of  this  section, 
and  they  often  assembled  to  discuss  news  of  interest.  Royal 
goveinment  in  North  Carolina  ended  in  June,  1775,  and 
there  was  no  semblance  of  royal  authority  in  Mecklenburg 
for  some  time  prior  to  that  date.  Several  meetings  were 
held  among  the  leading  citizens  to  decide  what  should  be 
done.  It  was  necessary  to  take  some  definite  action,  and  to 
provide  a  system  of  government. 

Thomas  Polk  was  military  commander  of  the  county  and 
was  a  leader  among  the  people.  He  was  authorized  to  call 
a  meeting  of  delegates  from  each  militia  district  whenever, 


THE   APPROACHING   STORM.  45 

in  his  opinion,  the  proper  time  had  come  to  act.  The  first  of 
May,  1775,  Thomas  Polk,  in  accordance  with  these  instruc- 
tions, issued  notice  for  each  district  to  elect  two  delegates  to 
an  Assembly  to  be  held  in  the  court  house  in  Charlotte  on 
the  nineteenth  day  of  May. 


Authority : — Colonial  Records,  Burke's  Speech  on  Con- 
ciliation, County  Records,  Moore's  Histor\^,  Johnson's  Rem- 
iniscences and  Hunter's  Sketches.  The  item  about  the  Rifle 
Factory  in  Charlotte  was  obtained  from  an  article  by  W.  H. 
Robarts  in  the  Washington  Post,  June  i6,  1901. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE;    MAY  20,  1775. 

Manner  of  Election  and  Assembling  of  the  Delegates — Excitement. 
— The  Addresses  and  the  Committee  on  Resolutions — News  of  the 
Battle  of  Lexington — Declaration  Unanimously  Adopted — Tem- 
porary  Form   of   Government  Provided. 

Colonel  Polk,  by  authority  of  the  power  previously  vested 
in  him,  issued  the  notice  for  the  election  of  two  delegates  by 
each  of  the  nine  militia  districts  in  the  county.  There  should, 
therefore,  have  been  eighteen  delegates  to  the  convention. 
When  it  assembled  on  the  19th  of  May,  however,  so  many 
prominent  men  were  present  that  a  dispute  arose  as  to  who 
should  be  termed  delegates,  and  a  compromise  list  containing 
the  names  of  twenty-seven  of  the  best  citizens  was  finally  ac- 
cepted. Rev.  Humphrey  Hunter,  in  his  memoirs,  says  he 
was  present,  being  twenty  years  of  age,  and  that  half  of  the 
men  in  Mecklenburg  county  were  in  Charlotte  that  day. 

Delegates  and  some  other  leading  citizens  obtained  seats 
in  the  court  house,  while  those  who  could  not  get  in  gathered 
in  groups  and  discussed  the  issues  among  themselves.  Or- 
ganization was  perfected  by  the  election  of  a  chairman  in 
the  person  of  Abraham  Alexander,  who  had  been  a  magis- 
trate and  chairman  of  the  Inferior  Court  and  a  representa- 
tive of  Mecklenburg  in  the  General  Assembly.  John  Mc- 
Knitt  Alexander,  who  was  also  an  honored  magistrate,  was 
made  secretary. 

Excitement  was  intense,  as  it  became  apparent  that  the 
proclamations  of  the  King  and  the  Governor  made  necessary 
some  decisive  action  on  the  part  of  the  people.  Every  one 
realized  the  importance  of  deliberate  consideration  before 
making  a  declaration  that  could  never  be  recalled.    Rumors 


NEWS  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  LEXINGTON. 


DECLARATION    OF    INDEPENDENCE.  47 

were  plentiful  of  offensive  legislation  by  Parliament  and  of 
other  efforts  to  subdue  the  colonists  and  to  quench  the  spirit 
of  freedom  so  rife  among  them.  The  colonies  were  prepar- 
ing for  war,  and  the  time  had  come  for  all  men  to  choose  be- 
tween England  and  America.  Mecklenburg  promptly  de- 
cided between  the  two,  and  then  she  went  further  in  the  be- 
lief that  if  war  must  come,  it  should  be  fought  for  a  purpose 
rather  than  for  a  grievance.  A  revolution  was  more  to  be 
desired  than  was  an  insurrection. 

The  addresses  made  to  the  convention  demonstrated  that 
all  the  delegates  were  searching  for  truth  and  eagerly  desir- 
ing to  know  what  was  proper  to  be  done.  Among  the  lead- 
ing speakers  and  advisers  were  Colonel  William  Kennon.  a 
distinguished  lawyer  of  Salisbury;  Rev.  Hezekiah  J.  Balch, 
an  honored  Presbyterian  minister,  and  Dr.  Ephraim  Brevard. 
The  chief  topics  considered  were  the  alarming  condition  of 
the  province  which  was  being  threatened  yet  was  not  arm- 
ing, the  restraint  of  provincial  and  export  trade,  unjust  tax- 
ation and  the  necessity  for  a  form  of  government. 

While  the  convention  was  thus  occupied  and  the  specta- 
tors were  intent  upon  the  proceedings,  a  horseman  galloped 
into  town,  shouting  as  he  came,  the  news  of  the  battle  of 
Lexington.  When  he  reached  the  court  house,  the  people 
surrounded  him  and  listened  with  amazement  to  the  news  in 
detail.  Just  one  month  before,  the  British  troops  had  fired 
upon  a  crowd  of  Americans  and  more  than  a  score  of  them 
were  killed.  Then  the  minute  men  responded  and  the  Brit- 
ish troops  were  forced  to  beat  a  precipitate  retreat. 

This  news  had  a  double  eft'ect  on  the  delegates :  the  sac- 
rifice of  the  patriots  incited  their  sympathy,  and  the  rout  of 
the  British  encouraged  them  in  making  a  bold  stroke  for 
liberty.  Men  who  had  cautioned  against  aggressive  action 
now  shouted  for  a  positive  declaration  of  independence.  The 
last  doubt  was  conquered  and  opposition  was  useless.  A 
committee  composed  of  Dr.  Brevard,  Colonel  Kennon  and 


48  HISTORY  OF   MECKivENBURG  COUNTY. 

Rev.  Hezekiah  Balch,  was  appointed  to  draw  up  resolutions 
for  the  consideration  of  the  convention. 

During  the  absence  of  the  committee,  a  new  phase  of  the 
situation  developed.  This  was  occasioned  by  an  inquiry  as 
to  how  the  delegates  were  to  avoid  the  obligation  of  the  oath 
of  loyalty  imposed  upon  them  after  the  defeat  of  the  Regu- 
lators. Some  replied  that  the  question  did  not  deserve  con- 
sideration, but  others  discussed  it  seriously.  The  consensus 
of  opinion  was  that  the  king  absolved  the  obligation  of  loy- 
alty on  the  part  of  the  Americans  by  declaring  them  in  a 
state  of  insurrection  and  out  of  his  protection. 

The  various  suggestions  and  resolutions  were  carefully 
considered  by  the  committee,  and  as  a  result,  their  report  was 
not  submitted  until  after  midnight.  It  was  read  by  the  sec- 
retary and  apparently  gave  entire  satisfaction  to  the  dele- 
gates, as  they  at  once  began  clamoring  for  its  immediate 
adoption.  At  2  o'clock  in  the  morning  of  May  20,  the  chair- 
man put  the  question  to  a  vote  and  the  delegates  and  specta- 
tors shouted  :  "Aye,  Aye."  The  twenty-seven  delegates  then 
went  forward  and  signed  the  document  as  representatives 
of  all  the  people.  It  was  agreed  that  the  Declaration  should 
be  proclaimed  from  the  court  house  steps  at  noon,  and  at 
that  time  it  was  read  by  Colonel  Polk  in  the  presence  of 
several  thousand  persons,  who  cheered  the  resolutions  with 
great  enthusiasm. 

Captain  James  Jack  was  deputized  to  go  to  Philadelphia, 
where  the  Continental  Congress  was  sitting,  and  give  copies 
of  the  Declaration  to  the  President  of  Congress  and  to  each 
of  North  Carolina's  representatives.  When  he  arrived  in 
Salisbury,  he  was  induced  by  Colonel  Kennon  .to  tarry  there 
in  order  to  allow  the  Declaration  to  be  read  in  court,  which 
was  in  session.  All  who  heard  the  reading  expressed  ap- 
proval except  two  lawyers,  Dunn  and  Booth,  who  called  it 
treason  and  endeavored  to  prevent  Captain  Jack's  intended 
trip  to  Philadelphia.     They  were  foiled  in  the  attempt  and 


DECLARATION  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  49 

were  afterwards  brought  to  Charlotte  and  punished  for  "un- 
faithfulness to  the  common  cause."  George  Graham  and 
Colonel  J.  Carruth  were  among  the  dozen  men  who  went  to 
Salisbury  and  arrested  the  lawyers. 

Meanwhile,  Captain  Jack  arrived  in  Philadelphia  June 
22),  the  day  that  General  Washington  left  to  take  command 
of  the  Continental  army.  He  was  met  that  day  by  William 
Alexander,  of  Mecklenburg,  who  was  there  on  business,  and 
who  in  his  old  age  often  told  that  he  met  Captain  Jack  at 
that  time  and  the  Captain  said  he  was  there  with  copies  of 
the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence  adopted  May 
20.  Congress  was  then  preparing  the  address  to  the  king, 
which  was  agreed  to  July  8,  and  which  declared  loyalty  to 
the  king  and  repudiated  the  charge  of  a  desire  for  independ- 
ence. Hence  it  was  not  deemed  prudent  to  publicly  con- 
sider the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
Captain  Jack  so  reported  the  views  of  the  President  and  our 
representatives. 

June  30,  Governor  Martin  inclosed  in  a  letter  to  the  Earl 
of  Dartmouth  a  copy  of  the  Cape  Fear  Mercury  containing 
the  Mecklenburg  Resolves  of  May  31.  The  Governor  wrote 
that  the  proceedings  of  that  convention  "surpasses  all  the 
horrid  and  treasonable  publications  that  the  inflammatory 
spirits  of  this  continent  have  yet  produced,  and  your  Lord- 
ship may  depend  its  authors  and  abettors  will  not  escape 
my  due  notice,  whenever  my  hands  are  sufficiently  strength- 
ened to  attempt  the  recovery  of  the  lost  authority  of  govern- 
ment. A  copy  of  these  resolves,  I  am  informed,  were  sent 
off  by  express  to  the  Congress  at  Philadelphia  as  soon  as 
they  were  passed  in  the  committee."  August  8,  he  issued  a 
proclamation  denouncing  the  action  of  the  Mecklenburg  peo- 
ple as  "most  infamous"  and  "treasonable." 


50  HISTORY  OF   MFXKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

The  Declaration,  as  signed,  was  as  follows : 

"ist.  Resolved,  That  whosoever  directly  or  indirectly 
abets  or  in  any  way,  form  or  manner,  countenances  the  inva- 
sion of  our  rights  as  attempted  by  the  Parliament  of  Great 
Britain,  is  an  enemy  to  his  country,  to  America,  and  the 
rights  of  man. 

"2d.  Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Mecklenburg 
county,  do  hereby  dissolve  the  political  bands  which  have 
connected  us  with  the  mother  country ;  and  absolve  ourselves 
from  the  allegiance  to  the  British  Crown,  abjuring  all  polit- 
ical connection  with  a  nation  that  has  wantonly  trampled  on 
our  rights  and  liberties,  and  inhumanly  shed  the  innocent 
blood  of  Americans  at  Lexington. 

"3d.  Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  declare  ourselves  a  free 
and  independent  people,  that  we  are  and  of  right  ought  to  be 
a  sovereign  and  self-governing  people  under  the  power  of 
God  and  the  general  Congress;  to  the  maintenance  of  which 
independence  we  solemnly  pledge  to  each  other  our  mutual 
co-operation,  our  lives,  our  fortunes  and  our  most  sacred 
honor. 

"4th.  Resolved,  That  we  do  hereby  ordain  and  adopt  as 
rules  of  conduct,  all  and  each  of  our  former  laws,  and  the 
crown  of  Great  Britain  cannot  be  considered  hereafter  as 
holding  any  rights,  privileges,  or  immunities  amongst  us. 

"5th.  Resolved,  That  all  ofificers,  both  civil  and  military, 
in  this  county,  be  entitled  to  exercise  the  same  powers  and 
authorities  as  heretofore;  that  every  member  of  this  delega- 
tion shall  henceforth  be  a  civil  officer,  and  exercise  the  pow- 
ers of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  issue  process,  hear  and  deter- 
mine controversies  according  to  law,  preserve  peace,  union 
and  harmony  in  the  county,  and  use  every  exertion  to  spread 
the  love  of  liberty  and  of  country,  until  a  more  general  and 
better  organized  system  of  government  be  established. 

"6th.  Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  trans- 


DECLARATION    OF   INDEPENDENCE. 


51 


mitted  by  express  to  the  President  of  the  Continental  Con- 
gress assembled  in  Philadelphia,  to  be  laid  before  that  body. 


Ephraim  Brevard. 
Hezekiah  J.  Baech^ 
John  Phifer, 
James  Harris, 
WiELIAM  Kennon, 
John  Ford_, 
Richard  Barry, 
Henry  Downs, 
Ezra  Alexander, 
William  Graham, 
John  Queary, 
Hezekiah  Alexander, 
Adam  Alexander, 


Charles  Alexander, 
Zaccheus  Wilson, 
Waightstill  Avery, 
Benjamin  Patton, 
Matthew  McClure, 
Neil  Morrison, 
Robert  Irwin, 
John  FlEnnegin, 
David  Reese, 
John  Davidson, 
Richard  Harris, 
Thomas  Polk, 
Abraham  Alexander, 


John  McKnitt  Alexander.'' 


Authority: — Same  as  Previous  Chapter,  Jones'  Defense, 
Wheeler's  History,  Wheeler's  Reminiscences,  and  Special 
Investigations  in  the  Libraries  of  Charleston,  S.  C,  and  Lon- 
don, England. 


CHAPTER    X. 

GOVERNMENT   BY   THE   COMMITTEE.      (1775   to   1776.) 

Adjourned  Meeting  Held  May  31 — Adopts  Rules  of  Government  Until 
"Laws  are  Provided  by  Congress" — Proceedings  Supplementary 
to  Previous  Convention — The  Two  Official  Declarations  Com- 
pared. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  Declaration  did  not  make  ade- 
quate provisions  for  the  government  of  the  county.  In  the 
convention  of  May  20,  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  interest  was 
the  dissolution  from  Great  Britain,  and  it  remained  for  the 
next  meeting  to  complete  the  arrangements  for  laws  and  of- 
ficers. The  adjourned  meeting  was  held  May  31,  and  twenty 
resolutions  w^ere  then  adopted.  These  resolutions  are  gen- 
erally know-n  as  the  "Resolves,"  while  those  of  May  20  are 
termed  the  "Declaration." 

The  Declaration  was  divided  into  five  different  parts  or 
resolutions.  The  first  asserted  that  the  cause  of  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  was  "the  unchartered  and  dangerous 
invasion  of  our  rights,  as  claimed  by  Great  Britain."  The 
second  dissolved  the  political  bands  connecting  us  with  the 
mother  country,  w-hile  the  third  declared  our  independence. 
The  fourth  revoked  all  British  authority  and  laws,  but 
adopted  the  latter  "as  a  rule  of  life,"  and  the  fifth  ordained 
that  each  delegate  present  should  thereafter  be  a  "Justice  of 
the  Peace  in  the  character  of  a  committeeman." 

This  document  and  the  minutes  of  the  various  meetings 
were  in  possession  of  John  McKnitt  Alexander,  and  were 
lost  in  the  fire  that  destroyed  his  house  in  1800.  Several 
copies  of  the  Declaration  had  been  previously  made :  one 
which  was  sent  to  Dr.  Hugh  Williamson,  the  historian,  was 
lost,  but  another  sent  to  Judge  Martin,  which  is  known  to 
have  been  in  his  possession  in  1793,  was  preserved.  Soon 
after  the  fire.  John  McKnitt  Alexander  re-wrote  the  Decla- 
ration from  memory,  and  this  production  is  almost  word  for 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  COMMITTEE.  53 

word  like  the  Martin  copy,  thus  showing  Mr.  Alexander's 
familiarity  with  the  famous  document.  The  proceedings  of 
the  convention  of  May  31  were  printed  in  the  Cape  Fear 
Mercury  in  June,  1775,  but  the  only  known  copy  of  the  paper 
was  borrowed  from  the  British  Colonial  Office  by  Hon.  An- 
drew Stevenson,  the  United  States  Minister  to  Great  Britain, 
in  the  year  1837,  and  was  not  returned. 

The  Resolves  were  also  published  in  June  in  the  South 
Carolina  Gazette  and  Country  Journal,  and  copies  of  this 
paper  are  now  preserved  in  Charleston  and  in  London. 
These  Resolves  extend  the  actions  of  the  convention  of  May 
20,  accepting  as  settled  the  new  order  of  ajffairs  following 
the  separation  from  England.  The  Resolves  were  drawn  up 
by  Dr.  Brevard,  and  signed  by  him  as  clerk  by  authority  of 
the  committee,  and  they  superseded  the  fourth  and  fifth  reso- 
lutions of  May  20  and  supplemented  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence by  definitely  defining  the  authority  under  which  the 
county  should  be  governed. 

Independence  having  been  declared  eleven  days  previous- 
ly, the  Resolves  begin  with  the  reasons  for  the  establishment 
of  the  forms  of  government  therein  contained.  The  first 
paragraph  recites  that  all  previous  laws  and  commissions 
were  established  by  the  authority  and  consent  of  the  king, 
and  that  they  were  suspended  when  the  king  declared  the  col- 
onies .out  of  his  protection,  and  therefore  could  not  be  in 
effect  unless  re-established.  Recognizing  the  legitimate  au- 
thority of  the  Continental  and  Provincial  Congresses,  the 
laws  and  regulations  following  were  enacted  "for  the  inter- 
nal government  of  this  county,  until  laws  shall  be  provided 
for  us  by  the  Congress." 

It  was  then  stipulated  that  each  militia  company  should 
assemble  at  some  convenient  point  and  choose  from  their 
own  number  two  men  to  serve  as  "Selectmen."  A  Select- 
man had  jurisdiction  over  all  matters  of  a  civil  nature 
wherein  not  more  than  twenty  shillings  was  concerned,  and 
two  Selectmen  sitting  together  could  try  cases  involving  as 
much  as  forty  shillings.     One  constable  was  provided  for 


54  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

each  of  these  officers,  and  authority  was  given  them  also  to 
commit  to  confinement  any  person  accused  of  petit  larceny. 

The  eighteen  Selectmen  in  the  county  were  to  meet  four 
times  a  year  to  try  all  cases  not  in  the  jurisdiction  of  any  of 
them  separately,  and  to  hear  appeals.  All  money  for  rents 
and  public  and  county  taxes  was  to  be  paid  into  the  hands  of 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  and  "disbursed  as  required  by 
public  exigencies."  The  militia  was  advised  to  equip  them- 
selves with  arms  and  accoutrements,  and  hold  themselves  in 
readiness  to  execute  the  commands  of  the  general  Congress 
or  of  the  committee,  and  Thomas  Polk  and  Dr.  Joseph  Ken- 
nedy were  directed  to  purchase  three  hundred  pounds  of 
powder,  six  hundred  pounds  of  lead  and  one  thousand  flints. 

Thus  it  will  be  noted  that  the  Convention  of  May  20  rein- 
stated the  old  laws  and  officers  with  a  few  changes,  and  the 
Resolves  allowed  these  officers  to  be  elected  by  the  people. 
The  officers  and  laws,  however,  remained  practically  as  be- 
fore the  Declaration,  though  it  was  expressly  stated  that  the 
officers  should  "exercise  their  powers  independent  of  the 
Crown  of  Great  Britain." 

Ample  provision  was  made  for  the  collection  of  debts. 
Persons  owing  so  much  as  forty  shillings  could  be  prevented 
from  leaving  the  county,  and  property  could  be  levied  on  for 
the  amount.  Any  Selectman  could  issue  the  warrant  upon 
oath  of  the  creditor.  The  government  was  strong  and  ef- 
ficient, and  there  was  but  little  opjxDsition  to  it.  When  a 
person  desired  to  leave  the  county,  a  certificate  was  given 
him  stating  that  he  was  a  friend  to  the  "common  cause." 

The  third  Provincial  Congress  met  in  Hillsboro  August 
20,  1775,  and  Mecklenburg  was  represented  by  Thomas 
Polk,  John  Phifer,  John  McKnitt  Alexander,  Samuel  Mar- 
tin, Waightstill  Avery  and  James  Houston,  the  four  first 
named  having  signed  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence. At  this  session,  a  provisional  government  w^as  in- 
stituted for  the  State,  with  Cornelius  Harnett  at  the  head, 
and  the  State  was  divided  into  six  general  militia  districts. 
The  Battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge  was  fought  February 


GOVERNMENT  BY  THE  COMMITTEE.  55 

27  following,  at  which  time  the  Patriots  won  a  decisive  vic- 
tory over  the  Tories. 

John  Phifer,  Robert  Irwin  and  John  McKnitt  Alexander 
represented  the  county  in  the  Congress  that  convened  April 
12,  1776,  and  they  were  instructed  by  the  county  committee 
to  declare  for  independence.  The  Congress  took  this  action, 
and  was  the  first  of  the  thirteen  to  so  instruct  her  representa- 
tives in  Philadelphia.  The  Constitution  of  North  Carolina 
was  adopted  December  i8,  1776,  and  this  provided  for  com- 
mittees of  safety  to  govern  each  county.  While  the  govern- 
ment of  Mecklenburg  was  not  modified,  yet  this  action  super- 
seded the  authority  of  the  conventions  held  in  May,  1775, 
and  the  laws  then  adopted  "until  laws  shall  be  provided  for 
us  by  the  Congress." 


Authority :— Same  as  Previous  Chapter,  and  an  Original 
Copy  of  the  South  Carolina  Gazette  and  Country  Journal  of 
June  13,  1775. 


CHAPTER   XI. 

THE  REVOLUTION.      (1776  to  1780.) 

Organization  of  the  State  Military  Forces — Prominent  Parts  Taken 
by  Mecklenburg  Men — Scovilite  and  Tory  Campaigns — The  Con- 
tinental Troops — Governor  Caswell  in  Charlotte. 

The  Provincial  Congress  of  August,  1775,  arranged  for 
three  classes  of  military  troops  in  the  State.  First  were  two 
continental  regiments  under  Colonels  Moore  and  Howe,  and 
in  the  first  of  which  George  Davidson  and  George  Graham, 
of  Mecklenburg,  were  officers.  Six  battalions  of  minute 
men  were  provided  for,  each  battalion  to  consist  of  two  com- 
panies of  fifty  men  each,  and  Mecklenburg's  levy  was  one 
hundred  men.  Of  the  county  militia,  the  officers  were  Colo- 
nel Thomas  Polk,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Adam  Alexander, 
Major  John  Phifer  and  Second  Major  John  Davidson. 
April,  1776,  four  additional  continental  regiments  were  or- 
ganized, and  Colonel  Polk  became  commander  of  the  Fourth 
regiment.  At  the  same  time  the  militia  was  reorganized 
on  account  of  resignations  and  because  some  of  the  first  of- 
ficers were  disloyal.  The  Mecklenburg  officers  were  pro- 
moted after  Colonel  Polk  left  the  militia,  and  George  A. 
Alexander  became  Second  Major.  In  November  of  1775,  a 
bill  was  passed  authorizing  a  company  of  volunteer  rangers 
in  the  county,  and  the  officers  were  Captain  Ezekiel  Polk 
and  Lieutenants  Samuel  Watson  and  William  Polk. 

Thomas  Polk  was  one  of  the  most  active  men  in  the  State, 
and  he  and  William  Kennon  were  on  the  committee  to  pre- 
pare a  temporary  plan  of  government.  Waightstill  Avery 
was  a  member  of  the  Provincial  Council  of  thirteen,  of  which 
Cornelius  Harnett  was  chairman.  There  were  six  district 
committees  of  safety,  and  ]\Iecklenburg  was  represented  in 
the  Salisbury-  district  committee  by  Hezekiah  Alexander 
and   Bejamin   Patton.     Then  there  were  thirty-six  county 


MV  JM 


^SXiTCH  O/"  t^C  CATAWBA  RIVER  fl4  ^f  COWANS'  FORD 

U  Engraved  for  Stedmajis  Hitlory  or  the  Amcncan  War. 


■  9i3ua«9iS!L' ; 


THE  REVOLUTION.  57 

committees  of  21  members  each,  which  met  four  times  a 
year  to  take  action  against  Tories,  and  to  attend  to  questions 
of  confiscation  and  other  mihtary  affairs.  Two  companies 
of  "light  horse"  were  raised  in  .the  Salisbury  district,  and 
Martin  Phifer  was  captain  of  the  Second.  May  11,  1776, 
the  Provincial  Council  was  superseded  by  the  State  Council 
of  Safety,  of  which  Hezekiah  Alexander  was  a  member. 

In  December,  1775,  Colonels  Rutherford,  Graham,  Cas- 
well, Martin  and  Polk,  with  six  hundred  men,  went  to  South 
Carolina  and  assisted  General  Richardson  in  his  campaign 
against  the  Scovilites,  a  lawless  band  of  men  who  defied  all 
authority.  This  was  called  the  Snow  Camp  Campaign  on 
account  of  the  snow  falling  so  heavily  during  the  march.  A 
notable  declaration  made  at  this  time  was  by  the  young  ladies 
of  Mecklenburg,  who  resolved  to  have  nothing  to  do  with 
any  boys  who  had  not  volunteered  for  the  march  against  the 
Scovilites. 

In  the  summer  of  1 776,  General  Rutherford  was  engaged 
in  a  campaign  against  the  Cherokee  Indians.  Several  skir- 
mishes were  fought  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  town 
of  Franklin,  and  the  Indians  were  reduced  to  quietude  and 
signed  a  treaty  of  peace  in  the  following  May.  On  this  ex- 
pedition, Captain  Charles  Polk  commanded  a  company  of 
Mecklenburg  militia  which  was  accompanied  by  Dr. 
Ephraim  Brevard.  Colonel  Adam  Alexander,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  John  Phifer,  Major  John  Davidson  and  Jesse  A. 
Alexander  also  participated  in  the  expedition.  Waightstill 
Avery  was  active  in  the  work  of  preparing  a  constitution  and 
the  laws  for  State  government,  and  became  Attorney  Gen- 
eral immediately  after  the  constitution  was  adopted,  Decem- 
ber 18,  1776. 

The  North  Carolina  brigade  of  9,400  men,  was  formed  at 
Wilmington  in  July,  1776.  William  Davidson  was  at  this 
time  Lieutenant-Colonel  of  the  Third  regiment,  William 
Polk  was  Major  in  the  Ninth,  and  Charles  Alexander  was  a 
Lieutenant  in  the  Fourth  regiment,  of  which  Thomas  Polk 
was  Colonel.    The  brigade  remained  in  North  Carolina  and 


58  HISTORY  OF   MECKLKXBURG  COUNTY. 

South  Carolina  until  March,  1777,  when  it  was  ordered 
north  and  arrived  in  Philadelphia  the  first  of  July.  The 
Mecklenburg-  troops  were  in  the  battles  of  Brandywine  and 
Gerniantown.  and  in  the  latter,  Major  William  Polk  was 
slig"htly  wounded.  They  spent  the  winter  with  General 
Washington  at  Valley  Forge,  and  in  May,  1778,  they  were 
consolidated  into  four  regiments,  numbering  in  all  only 
1,157  officers  and  men.  Three  thousand  North  Carolina 
militiamen  were  drafted  in  the  continental  service  for  nine 
months,  and.  with  Washington's  army,  took  part  in  the  cam- 
l)aign  in  the  winter  of  1778- 1779. 

When  the  continental  regiments  were  consolidated.  Colo- 
nel Polk  resigned  his  commission  and  returned  to  his  home. 
He  did  not  hold  a  position  of  prominence  again  until  Sep- 
tember 15,  1780,  when  he  was  appointed  Commissary-Gen- 
eral by  General  Green,  who  succeeded  General  Gates,  in 
Charlotte,  December  3,  1780,  but  in  the  meantime  he  was  ac- 
tive in  county  affairs  and  in  the  defense  of  the  home  people. 
The  notable  services  of  Polk  and  of  his  sons  are  worthy  of 
all  honor.  Captain  Thomas  Polk,  Jr.,  was  killed  at  Eutaw 
Springs  while  fighting  bravely  September  8,  1781.  William 
Polk  was  wounded  in  the  Scovilite  campaig^n  and  also  at 
Germantown.  and  Captain  Charles  Polk  was  active  through- 
out the  war.  During  Colonel  Polk's  service  as  commissary 
for  General  Greene's  army,  money  was  scarce  and  Colonel 
Polk  expended  all  his  private  funds  in  the  public  cause,  part 
of  it,  however,  being  afterwards  returned  to  him. 

In  February,  1779,  a  Tory  insurrection  gained  considera- 
ble strength  in  Tryon  county,  and  troops  were  collected  to 
suppress  it.  David  Wilson  commanded  a  company  of  Meck- 
lenburg "light  horse"  in  this  campaigri,  which  was  in  every 
way  successful.  May  i,  a  levy  for  clothing  for  the  conti- 
nental troops  was  made,  and  this  county  was  called  upon  to 
supply  yo.  hats,  144  pairs  of  shoes  and  stockings,  304  yards 
of  linen  and  144  yards  of  woolen  or  double-woven  cloth. 

The  term  of  service  of  nearly  all  the  North  Carolina 
troops  expired  in  April,  1779,  and  the  soldiers  returned  to 


THE  REVOLUTION.  59 

their  homes.  The  General  Assembly  directed  the  Governor 
to  draft  2,000  of  the  militia,  most  of  whom  were  to  be  sent 
to  the  defense  of  Charleston.  Governor  Caswell  and  the 
State  Council  came  to  Charlotte  April  lo,  and  here  reviewed 
the  soldiers  who  were  to  go  to  Charleston,  and  the  next  day, 
General  Butler,  with  700  troops,  began  the  march.  While 
here  the  Governor  commissioned  William  R.  Davie  a  lieu- 
tenant in  the  light  horse  company,  of  which  William  Bar- 
nett  was  captain. 

During  these  trying  times,  the  men  of  Mecklenburg  were 
nobly  doing  the  duty  of  true  patriots.  This  county  sent 
soldiers  to  fight  under  Washington,  to  help  South  Caro- 
lina and  Georgia,  to  drive  back  the  Indians  and  to  suppress 
insurrections;  and  when  the  task  of  defending  their  homes 
devolved  upon  them,  they  put  up  a  fight  that  is  one  of  the 
noblest  in  history.  While  the  men  were  doing  these  things, 
the  women  were  no  less  zealous  in  their  patriotism.  They 
made  clothes  for  the  soldiers,  nursed  the  sick  and  wounded 
and  encouraged  the  feeble-minded  by  their  sacrifices  and 
their  courasre. 


Authority : — Colonial  Records,  Personal  Correspondence, 
Eggleston's  History  of  the  United  States,  and  Johnson's 
Reminiscences  of  the  Revolution. 


CHAPTER   XII. 

THE  HORNETS'   NEST.      (1780   to   1782.) 

Surrender  of  Charleston — Battle  of  Ramsour's  Mill — Davidson  and 
Davie  Harass  the  British — Reception  of  Cornwallis  in  Charlotte. 
— Surprise  at  Mclntyre's,  Battle  of  King's  Mountain  and  De- 
parture of  the  British — General  Davidson  Killed  at  Cowan's 
Ford. 

Charleston  surrendered  to  the  British  forces  May  12, 
1780.  At  this  time  General  William  Caswell  and  Colonel 
Buford  were  at  Lanier's  Ferry,  on  the  Santee  river,  with  400 
men  each.  The  British  marched  from  Charleston  to  Cam- 
den, and  Caswell  fell  back  to  Cross  Creek,  N.  C,  where  he 
was  June  2.  Buford,  with  his  small  force,  retreated  towards 
Charlotte,  but  was  intercepted  at  Waxhaw  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Tarleton  with  a  superior  force,  and  his  detachment 
was  cut  to  pieces  on  the  29th  day  of  May.  Shortly  after  this 
eng-ag"ement,  Mrs.  Jackson,  the  mother  of  Andrew  Jackson, 
moved  with  her  children  from  Waxhaw  and  lived  for  some 
time  with  a  widow  at  Sugar  creek,  and  Andrew  was  often 
in  Charlotte. 

The  patriots  in  the  vicinity  of  Charlotte,  as  well  as  all 
in  North  Carolina,  were  much  discouraged.  Nearly  the 
entire  military  strength  of  the  State  had  been  surrendered 
at  Charleston,  leaving  the  country  practically  without 
any  means  of  defense  against  the  approaching  invaders. 
General  Rutherford,  with  a  small  body  of  troops,  was  watch- 
ing General  Rawdon  at  Hanging  Rock  when  he  received  in- 
telligence of  a  Tory  uprising  in  the  neighborhood  of  Ram- 
sour's Mill.  Being  im willing  to  leave  Charlotte  unprotected, 
he  ordered  Colonel  Francis  Locke  to  raise  troops  to  quell 
the  Tories,  he  himself  intending  to  join  Locke  before  the  at- 
tack. Colonel  Locke,  with  several  capable  assistants,  col- 
lected about  400  men.  and  without  waiting  for  reinforce- 
ments, fell  upon  the  1,100  Tories  June  20,  and  inflicted  upon 


THE  hornets'  nest.  6i 

them  a  crushing  defeat.  General  Rutherford  appeared  on 
the  scene  before  the  battle  had  ended,  and  his  cavalry  assisted 
in  the  pursuit  of  the  vanquished  Tories.  William  and  E^ra 
Alexander  were  captains  in  General  Davidson's  battalion  at 
this  event. 

Rutherford's  command  now  joined  General  Gates,  and  par- 
ticipated in  the  battle  of  Camden  August  i6,  which  resulted 
in  the  disastrous  defeat  of  the  Americans,  General  Ruther- 
ford being  taken  prisoner.  The  command  of  Rutherford's 
brigade  thereupon  devolved  upon  General  Davidson,  who 
camped  eight  miles  below  Charlotte  to  recuperate  his  troops. 
Caswell  and  Sumner  formed  a  camp  of  militia  in  Charlotte, 
but  retreated  toward  the  north  when  Comwallis  left  Cam- 
den September  8.  Davidson  and  Davie,  with  their  inferior 
forces,  were  all  that  opposed  the  entry  of  Lord  Cornwallis 
into  the  State,  but  they  prepared  to  defend  their  homes  to 
the  bitter  end. 

These  intrepid  soldiers  did  all  in  their  power  to  harrass 
the  British,  and  succeeded  in  impeding  their  progress  con- 
siderably. They  captured  sentries  and  spies,  and  so  alarmed 
Cornwallis  by  capturing  small  foraging  parties  that  he  would 
not  send  out  less  than  a  regiment  for  that  purpose.  Every 
step  of  the  British  march  was  greeted  with  a  rifle  shot 
from  the  woods  and  the  determined  persistent  opposition 
did  much  to  dishearten  the  conquering  army. 

Major  Davie  surprised  the  British  at  Captain  Wahab's, 
near  the  South  Carolina  line,  September  21,  and  inflicted 
damage  upon  them,  the  killed  and  wounded  numbering  about 
60.  At  various  other  times  he  attacked  and  routed  small 
bodies  of  foragers  and  guards,  and  he  was  continually  near 
the  British  army.  September  10,  he,  with  General  David- 
son, annihilated  a  body  of  Tories  two  miles  from  the  British 
camp,  which  was  then  at  Waxhaw.  General  Davidson  then 
located  at  McAlpin's  creek,  eight  miles  south  of  Charlotte, 
with  400  men.  At  midnight  of  September  25,  Davie,  with 
one  hundred  and  fifty  cavalry,  entered  Charlotte,  where  he 
was  joined  by  Major  Joseph  Graham,  the  yoimg  hero  who 


62  HISTORY   OK   MliCKLKXBL  KG   COLNTV. 

had  done  much  fighting  with  a  small  band  of  volunteers. 
Cornwallis  left  Waxhaw  September  24.  and  about  1 1  o'clock 
September  26,  his  advance  guard  entered  Charlotte,  ap- 
proaching from  the  st)Uth  by  Trade  street. 

Davie  and  Graham  had  made  ample  provision  for  a  strong 
resistance,  and  it  is  suj>erfluous  to  mention  the  bravery  of 
these  i)atriots  who  resisted  so  gloriously  a  victorious  army 
outnumbering  them  15  to  i.  Major  Graham  was  in  com- 
mand of  a  company  that  advanced  along  East  Trade  street, 
protected  by  the  houses  and  fences  and  trees  on  each  side. 
Another  company  was  dismounted  and  placed  behind  the 
stone  wall  surrounding  the  space  underneath  the  court  house, 
while  the  others  were  held  in  reserve.  Tarleton's  cavalry, 
under  the  immediate  command  of  Major  Hanger,  formed 
in  line  within  three  hundred  yards  of  the  court  house,  and 
were  supported  by  solid  ranks  of  infantry.  The  order  to 
charge  was  given  and  obeyed,  and  then  the  Americans,  who 
had  kept  quiet,  calmly  delivered  a  galling  fire  which  threw 
the  attacking  party  into  such  confusion  that  they  turned 
and  galloped  back  in  disorder.  Two  other  charges  were 
similarly  repulsed,  but  meanwhile  the  British  infantry  had 
steadily  advanced,  and  it  became  apparent  that  the  work  of 
the  day  was  about  completed,  and  the  retreat  was  begun. 
The  noble  defenders  were  vigorously  pursued,  but  under 
cover  of  nightfall,  succeeded  in  avoiding  capture.  Lieuten- 
ant George  Locke  and  four  privates  were  killed,  and  Major 
Joseph  Graham  and  five  privates  were  wounded,  and  the 
enemy  lost  45  in  killed  and  wounded. 

Cornwallis  remained  in  Charlotte  sixteen  days,  during 
which  time  his  position  fully  justified  him  in  naming  the 
town  "The  Hornets'  Nest."  As  an  illustration  of  the  re- 
spect he  had  for  his  enemies,  he  sent  Major  Doyle  with  450 
cavalry  and  forty  wagons  on  a  foraging  expedition.  October 
3.  The  country  people  saw  them  passing  gaily  along  the 
road,  and  Captain  James  Thompson  and  Captain  George 
Graham,  with  about  a  dozen  armed  men,  followed  them  to 
Mclntyre's   farm.      Here   the   foragers   began   loading  the 


THE  hornets'  nest.  63 

wagons  with  the  fat  of  the  land ;  the  dogs  were  set  to  chasing 
chickens,  a  bee  hive  was  .turned  over  and  the  bees  chased  the 
soldiers,  and  altogether  it  made  a  merry  scene.  A  red  faced 
captain  was  standing  on  the  doorsteps  laughing  boister- 
ously, when  one  of  the  men  in  ambush  said  to  his  compan- 
ions, "I  can't  wait  any  longer;  let  every  one  pick  his  man; 
the  captain  is  mine."  At  the  fusillade  that  followed,  the 
British  were  confused  and  ran  madly  about  the  yard  looking 
for  a  place  of  refuge  from  what  appeared  to  be  a  complete 
ambuscade.  Major  Doyle  hurried  up  and  the  troops  at  once 
set  out  toward  Charlotte ;  patriots  all  along  the  road  took  up 
the  fight,  and  the  flight  was  precipitate  and  disorderly  until 
Charlotte  was  reached. 

October  5,  1780,  General  Sumner  retreated  across  the 
Yadkin,  leaving  the  enemy  in  force  in  this  county.  Two 
days  later,  the  Board  of  War  wrote  to  Governor  Nash  that 
Josiah  Martin,  who  called  himself  Governor  of  North  Caro- 
lina, was  in  Charlotte  signing  official  papers  and  offering  in- 
ducements to  Tories.  The  battle  of  King's  Mountain  was 
fought  October  7.  Colonel  Patrick  Ferguson,  an  able  and  a 
favorite  officer  of  Lord  Cornwallis,  had  been  sent  out  some 
time  before  to  head  off  the  Whigs,  who  were  retreating  to- 
ward the  mountains,  and  his  command,  which  originally 
consisted  of  no  regulars  and  about  the  same  number  of 
Tories,  included  a  full  thousand  men  at  the  time  of  the  bat- 
tle. Colonels  Campbell,  Shelby,  Hambright,  Sevier.  \\^in- 
ston,  McDowell,  Cleveland  and  Williams  combined  and 
raised  a  force  to  "catch  Ferguson,"  who  was  openly  boast- 
mg  of  things  he  was  going  to  do.  These  officers,  with  an 
army  nearly  as  large  as  Ferguson's,  pursued  him  and  came 
upon  him  on  King's  Mountain.  The  fighting  began  about 
3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  in  little  more  than  an  hour, 
Ferguson  was  killed  and  all  his  men  killed,  wounded  or  cap- 
tured. 

These  events  so  affected  Lord  Cornwallis  that  he  resolved 
to  leave  this  section,  and  on  the  twelfth  day  of  October,  he 
departed  from  Charlotte,  leaving  behind  much  plunder  that 


64  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

he  was  unable  or  unwilling  to  carry  with  him.  Though  he 
had  been  very  unwelcome,  he  was  not  even  allowed  to  de- 
part in  peace,  for  General  Davidson,  who  had  been  at  Camp 
McKnitt  Alexander,  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county,  be- 
gan to  impede  his  progress,  and  he  was  ably  assisted  by 
Davie,  Graham  and  others. 

General  Rutherford  was  released  from  prison  about  this 
time,  and  he  at  once  raised  three  companies  of  dragoons  and 
two  hundred  cavalry.  Assisted  by  Colonel  Robert  Irwin 
and  Major  Joseph  Graham,  he  marched  toward  Wil- 
mington, defeated  the  Tories  at  Raft  swamp  and  another 
body  near  Wilmington,  and  Colonel  Gagney  near  Lake 
Waccamaw.  In  Decemlxr,  Major  Joseph  Graham  enlisted 
fifty  riflemen,  captured  the  British  guard  at  Hart's  Mill, 
was  with  Lee  at  Pyle's  hacking  match  and  Clapp's  mine,  and 
with  Colonel  Washington  at  Whitsell's  mill.  February  i, 
1 78 1,  the  Grahams  and  the  Polks  were  with  General  David- 
son when  he,  with  three  hundred  men,  intercepted  Cornwal- 
lis  at  Cowan's  Ford,  where  the  Americans  were  defeated  and 
General  Davidson  was  killed.  Richard  Barry,  David  Wilson 
and  other  soldiers  took  the  body  of  the  dead  general  to  the 
home  of  Samuel  Wilson,  Sr.,  where  it  was  prepared  for 
burial  and  interred  by  torchlight  in  the  Hopewell  cemetery. 


Authority: — Same  as  Previous  Chapter.  Wheeler's  His- 
tory and  Hunter's  Sketches. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

CLOSE   OF   THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.      (1776   to   1800.) 

War  Times  and  County  Affairs — Lawyers  and  Legislative  Proceed- 
ings— Monetary  System — Public  Buildings  and  Industries — An- 
drew Jackson  and  James  Knox  Polk  Born  in  Mecklenburg. 
— George  Washington  in  Charlotte. 

The  transition  of  the  power  of  government  from  the  king 
to  the  people  occasioned  no  marked  change  except  in  the  au- 
thority. There  was  no'  revolution  in  laws  and  officers  in 
Mecklenburg,  but  affairs  remained  much  as  they  were  before 
the  Declaration  of  Independence.  People  in  this  county 
were  fortunate  from  the  first  in  having  officers  of  their  own 
choosing,  it  being  customary  for  several  good  men  to  be  sug- 
gested to  the  Royal  Governor  for  his  selection  for  each  of- 
fice. 

During  the  war,  confiscation  commissioners  were  appoint- 
ed at  different  points  in  the  county,  their  duty  being  to  seize 
any  property  of  Royalists  and  to  watch  suspected  parties. 
The  old  county  court,  composed  of  the  justices  of  the  county, 
met  four  times  each  year  to  try  appeals  and  cases  out  of  the 
jurisdiction  of  themselves  separately.  It  was  their  duty  also 
to  elect  the  sheriff  and  register  and  clerk  of  the  court.  An- 
other department  of  the  government  was  the  commissioners 
for  the  poor.  They  employed  a  man  as  superintendent  to 
look  after  the  destitute,  and  in  1^7^,  he  reported  his  expenses  1  'j 
for  the  year  at  $80.  '  ' 

Counties  were  then  divided  into  sections  called  militia  dis- 
tricts. There  was  a  captain  of  the  militia,  a  tax  lister  and 
two  magistrates  in  each  one;  taxes  were  listed  during  the 
last  six  "working  days"  of  July.  In  1775,  there  were  only 
nine  of  these  districts,  but  the  number  was  increased  to  sev- 
enteen in  1777.  and  to  nineteen  in  1784.  at  which  number  it 
remained  tO'  the  close  of  the  century. 


66  JIISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

Mecklenburg  did  not  lack  for  lawyers  in  the  early  days. 
In  1774,  when  Charlotte  contained  less  than  200  inhabitants, 
there  were  five  local  lawyers,  and  at  every  court  several  from 
other  counties  were  present.  Waig-htstill  Avery  came  about 
1767,  and  he  was  the  leading  lawyer  during  the  Revolution 
and  for  some  time  afterwards.    At  the  court  held  in  October. 

1778,  Spruce  McKay  presented  a  license  to  practice  law, 
signed  by  Judges  Samuel  Spencer  and  Samuel  Ashe.  Wm. 
R.  Davie  was  the  attorney  for  the  State  at  the  October  term, 

1779,  and  in  1783,  Adlai  Osborne  was  county  attorney,  and 
his  pay  was  £10  for  every  court  attended.  Within  the  last 
quarter  of  the  century,  about  thirty  lawyers  were  licensed  to 
practice  in  the  Mecklenburg  court,  but  not  more  than  ten  or 
twelve  lived  in  the  county  at  any  one  time. 

Fees  to  lawyers  were  not  different  from  what  they  now 
are.  In  1764,  Richard  Henderson  was  paid  £34  for  prose- 
cuting Berry  for  the  murder  of  Hugh  Irwin.  November  12, 
1773.  Wm.  Smith  received  £7  for  services  as  administrator 
of  an  estate.  In  1794,  Daniel  Brown  was  paid  two  guineas 
for  prosecuting  two  suits  for  John  Bigham  in  the  Lancaster, 
S.  C.  court,  and  in  1796,  Wm.  J.  Alexander  received  £4 
from  Allen  Reed  for  fees  in  a  suit  in  chancer}^ 

Legislatures  were  much  occupied  during  this  period  with 
local  laws.  In  1779,  the  Rocky  river  fish  law  was  enacted, 
prohibiting  obstructions  in  the  river  which  had  been  built  to 
catch  the  fish,  and  in  1786,  several  other  rivers  were  included 
in  the  provisions  of  the  act.  In  1779,  the  county  was  divided 
into  two  military  divisions  on  account  "of  Charlotte  being  in 
an  uncentral  position  and  the  necessity  for  all  men  to  attend 
court-martials  and  other  military  duties."  When  water 
overflowed  as  a  result  of  a  mill  dam.  and  damaged  land,  the 
law  provided  that  the  land  owner  should  give  ten  days' notice 
and  make  application  to  the  county  court  to  order  the  sheriff 
to  make  an  investigation  and  assess  the  amount  of  damages 
to  be  paid  by  the  mill  owner. 

Until  the  United  States  monetary  system  was  organized, 
there  was  great  inconvenience  caused  by  the  money  in  circu- 


CLOSE  OF  THE  EIGHTEENTH   CENTURY.  67 

lation.  Paper  money  was  subjected  to  all  manner  of  fluctua- 
tions during-  the  war  times,  and  was  not  worth  its  face  value 
in  "solid  money"  at  any  time.  Gold  and  currency  were  used 
here  with  the  stamp  of  North  Carolina,  South  Carolina, 
Continental,  Spanish  and  English,  and  exchange  was  con- 
sequently very  annoying.  The  amount  in  circulation  was 
also  insufficient,  and  before  and  after  the  war,  efforts  were 
made  to  have  certain  commodities  made  legal  tender  for 
debts  and  taxes,  but  the  plan  did  not  meet  with  general 
approval. 

The  permanent  location  of  the  capital  of  the  county  in 
Charlotte,  in  1774,  was  the  first  impetus  to  progress  that  the 
town  received.  The  second  incentive  was  the  incorporation 
of  Liberty  Hall  Academy  in  1777.  These  events  contribu- 
ted much  to  the  growth  of  Charlotte,  causing  people  to 
purchase  lots  and  move  to  the  village  for  purposes  of  trade 
and  to  enjoy  the  educational  advantages  not  to  be  obtained 
in  the  country. 

Public  buildings  in  the  town  in  1775  consisted  of  a  jail, 
court  house  and  stocks.  In  the  county  charges  of  1774,  fifty 
pounds  was  taxed  for  a  jail,  and  in  the  next  year  an 
equal  amount  was  again  expended  on  the  buildings.  The 
court  house,  which  was  built  in  1767,  was  repaired  in 
1773  and  again  in  1774.  In  July,  1778,  the  county  court 
ordered  Sheriff  Thomas  Harris  to  employ  workmen  to  make 
such  "alterations  and  repairs  within  the  court  house  as  he 
may  think  proper  in  order  to  render  the  same  more  conven- 
ient for  lawyers  and  other  officers  of  court  to  execute  their 
respective  duties  without  interruption  or  confusion." 

In  October,  1779,  Thomas  Polk  and  Duncan  Ochiltree 
were  appointed  commissioners  to  "impale  or  otherwise  in- 
close the  under  part  of  the  court  house"  in  order  to  make  it 
agreeable  as  an  exchange,  and  a  stone  wall  was  accordingly 
built  around  it.  The  court  house  was  so  damaged  at  the 
time  of  the  British  invasion  and  occupation  of  1780  and 
1 781,  that  court  was  held  in  Joseph  Nicholson's  house  until 
April  of  1782. 


68  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COLNTY. 

In  September,  1786,  tlie  total  population  of  Charlotte  was 
276.  Of  these  123,  or  nearly  one-half,  were  negroes;  of  the 
remaining  153  white  people,  69  were  females  and  84  were 
males.  The  population  of  the  entire  county  at  this  time  was 
about  9,000,  which  increased  to  19,439  by  the  close  of 
the  century.  The  value  of  town  property  in  1796  was  re- 
turned as  $4,264.  In  1795,  the  number  of  acres  of  land 
listed  for  taxation  was  211,533,  ^"^1  in  1797,  it  was  273,284. 
The  variance  in  the  figures  is  accounted  for  by  the  failure  of 
some  to  list  their  proj^erty. 

There  was  no  United  States  iKJStoffice  in  Charlotte  before 
1792,  in  which  year  the  local  officers  for  the  first  time  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  Federal  government.  Edward 
Waine  and  Ephraim  B.  Davidson  held  the  position  as  post- 
master before  1800. 

The  only  industries  in  Charlotte  at  the  close  of  this  period 
were  a  flour  mill,  saw  mill  and  a  blacksmith  shop.  Besides 
these,  however,  might  be  mentioned  a  number  of  taverns,  a 
maker  of  rifles,  and  the  merchants,  tailors,  weavers  and  hat- 
ters. Jeremiah  ]\IcCaf¥erty  opened  a  store  in  Charlotte  as 
early  as  1771,  and  three  others  were  doing  business  prior 
to  the  Revolution.  The  firm  of  Ochiltree,  Martin  &  Co. 
were  merchandising  as  late  as  1780.  and  in  1783,  the  same 
firm  was  doing  business  under  the  name  of  Ochiltree  &  Polk, 
and  there  were  many  other  traders  in  the  town  and  county. 

Andrew  Jackson,  seventh  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  born  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Mecklenburg,  six  miles 
from  the  present  town  of  Waxhaw,  in  what  is  now  Union 
county,  March  15,  1767,  and  soon  after  his  birth,  his  wid- 
owed mother  moved  with  her  children  into  South  Carolina. 
In  the  records  of  the  October  term  of  the  county  court  in 
1787,  is  this  entry : 

"\y.  Copples,  Andrew  Jackson  and  Alexander  McGinty, 
Esquires,  come  into  Court  and  produce  License  from  the 
Honorable,  the  Judges  of  the  Superior  Court  of  Law  and 
Equity,  authorizing  them  to  practice  as  Attorneys  in  the  sev- 


CLOSE  OF  THE   EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY.  69 

eral  County  Courts  within  this  State,  and  having  taken  the 
oath  of  office,  ordered  that  they  be  admitted  accordingly." 

November  2,  1795,  James  Knox  Polk,  eleventh  President 
of  the  United  States,  was  born  between  Hopewell  and  Hun- . 
tersville,  at  the  home  of  his  mother's  parents,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
James  Knox.  His  father,  Samuel  Polk,  was  a  son  of  Ezekiel 
Polk,  and  in  1806,  when  James  Knox  Polk  was  eleven  years 
of  age,  moved  with  his  family  to  Tennessee. 

George  Washington  was  in  Charlotte  May  25,  1791, 
being  on  a  tour  through  the  South.  He  dined  with  Gen. 
Polk  with  a  party  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  the 
countv.  who  had  been  invited  to  meet  the  distinguished 
guest. 


Authority: — Colonial  and  County  Records.  The  birth- 
place of  Jackson  was  decided  definitely  by  Parton's  Biogra- 
phy. Appleton's  Encyclopedia,  the  Land  Records  and  Col. 
S.  H.  Walkup's  Publication. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

EDUCATION  BEFORE  1800. 

First  Teachers  and  Schools  in  Mecklenburg — Qualifications  of  Teach- 
ers and  Nature  of  Instruction — Grammar  and  Classical  Schools. 
— Queen's  College,  Queen's  Museum  and  Liberty  Hall. 

The  first  school  teachers  in  Mecklenburg  of  whom  there 
are  any  records,  were  at  their  work  in  1762,  about  the  time 
the  county  was  established.  So  that,  properly,  the  history  of 
education  in  Mecklenburg  begins  with  the  history  of  Meck- 
lenburg itself.  February  9,  1762,  Charles  Moore,  who  lived 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  county,  which  is  now  in  South  Caro- 
lina, gave  to  Andrew  Armon  a  receipt  for  four  pounds  and 
fifteen  shillings  in  full  payment  of  a  note  from  his  father  for 
"schooling."  As  this  teacher  was  practicing  his  vocation 
in  a  part  of  the  county  then  most  thinly  settled,  it  is  within 
the  bounds  of  proper  inference  to  say  there  must  have  been 
teachers  before  that  time  in  the  neighborhoods  of  Rocky 
river.  Sugar  creek.  Steele  creek,  and  Providence.  Moses 
Ferguson  taught  near  where  the  Barringers  lived,  and  later 
at  Steele  creek  before  1762,  and  he  was  one  of  the  teachers 
mentioned  by  Governor  Dobbs  in  1755  as  being  em])loyed 
by  a  number  of  Irish  Protestant  families  w^ho  had  banded 
together  in  order  to  have  their  children  educated. 

There  were  but  few  school  houses  in  the  county  before 
the  Revolution,  it  being  the  custom  for  the  teachers  to  work 
at  their  homes  or  at  the  homes  of  the  patrons.  By  1775, 
however,  there  were  school  buildings  in  Charlotte  and  at 
Rocky  river.  Clear  creek,  Sugar  and  Steele  creeks,  Provi- 
dence, Hopewell,  Beatty's  ford  and  one  between  Providence 
and  the  present  town  of  Monroe.  The  Sugar  creek  gram- 
mar school  was  one  of  the  most  noted  in  this  section.  Some 
teachers  would  teach  in  one  community  a  few  months,  and 
then  move  to  another,  and  in  this  way  were  engaged  in  their 


'■* 


'SI 


EDUCATION    BEFORE    180O.  7 1 

work  during  the  whole  year.  They  did  not  depend  for  their 
hving  entirely  upon  tuition,  as  records  are  plentiful  of  teach- 
ers "crying  sales"  and  "trading  horses." 

Writing,  reading,  spelling  and  arithmetic  were  the  sub- 
jects taught  in  these  first  schools.  The  Bible  was  often 
used  as  the  text  book  for  reading,  but  considerable  difficulty 
was  encountered  in  securing  a  sufficient  number  of  arithme- 
tics. The  teacher,  of  course,  possessed  one,  and  he  or  the 
pupils  would  copy  portions  of  it  for  the  use  oi  the  school. 
Some  books  were  kept  for  sale  by  the  merchants  in  Meck- 
lenburg, but  these  were  of  a  religious  character,  and  the  text 
books  were  usually  purchased  in  Charleston  and  brought 
back  by  the  traders. 

People  of  those  days  had  practical  ideas  about  everything. 
It  was  deemed  important  that  children  be  taught  the  rudi- 
ments of  education,  and  some  were  sent  north  to  college, 
but  the  things  most  highly  considered  were  religious  and  in- 
dustrial training.  Parents  believed  it  essential  that  their 
children  be  given  instruction  in  the  Bible,  Catechism  and  re- 
ligious doctrines,  and  that  each  one  be  trained  in  some  trade. 
Provisions  were  made  by  wills  and  otherwise  for  a  child  to 
be  given  a  certain  amount  of  "schooling"  and  to  be  bound 
to  some  man  who  would  agree  to  instruct  him  in  "the  art 
and  mystery  of  weaving,"  "tailoring"  or  any  of  the  similar 
industries.  It  was  customary  for  all  orphans  to  be  bound  in 
this  way  until  they  became  twenty-one  years  of  age,  and 
thus  each  one  was  fitted  to  earn  an  independent  living. 

There  are  many  records  of  bills,  charges  against  estates 
and  receipts  for  "schooling"  prior  to  .the  Revolutionary  war. 
In  September,  1775,  John  Patterson,  schoolmaster,  circu- 
lated articles  of  agreement  to  teach  a  school  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  county.  The  contract  stipulated  that  the  master 
should  "well  and  truly  teach,  according  to  custom,  spelling, 
reading,  writing  and  arithmetic,"  and  that  the  patrons 
should  "cut  and  lay  convenient  to  the  school  house  a  suf- 
ficiency of  firewood  for  the  year."  The  school  opened  Octo- 
ber 5,  1775,  and  continued  six  months,  the  teacher's  remu- 


7-  IIISTOKV   OF    MliCKLlCXBUKG   COLNTY. 

neratiun  l^eing  ''equivalent  to  six  months'  wages  with  board 
and  lodging."  Teachers  were  paid  the  same  wages  as  com- 
mon hired  men. 

After  the  Revolution  there  were  several  popular  schools 
in  the  county.  Dr.  McCorkle  taught  at  Thyatira,  Dr.  Rob- 
inson at  Poplar  Tent.  Dr.  Wilson  at  Rocky  river,  Caldwell 
at  Sugar  creek  and  James  Walters  at  Providence.  Besides 
these  men,  who  were  located  permanently  in  their  respective 
neighlx)rhoods,  there  were  many  traveling  teachers.  In 
1773,  Kerns  Henderson  taught  the  two  children  of  Joseph 
Sample  at  a  "musick  school."  Elizabeth  Cummins,  who 
taught  a  four  months'  school  in  the  county  in  1774,  was 
Mecklenburg's  first  lady  teacher.  Clio's  Nursery  and  Sci- 
ence Hall  were  taught  by  Rev.  James  Hall,  the  pastor  of 
Fourth  creek.  Concord  and  Bethany. 

Elijah  Alexander  taught  a  school  at  his  home  in  1791, 
and  boarded  a  number  of  "scholars."  In  some  of  the  l:)est 
schools  by  this  date,  geography  and  Latin  were  added  to  the 
usual  course  of  instruction.  As  early  as  1787,  John  Mc- 
Kemey  Wilson  was  at  school  away  from  home,  and  in  1790. 
Thomas  Polk  spoke  of  James  Polk  as  "soon  to  leave  for 
Williamsburg  for  school."  Boarding  schools  in  the  county 
were  rare,  but  it  was  not  uncommon  by  the  close  of  the  cen- 
tury for  boys  to  be  away  from  home  attending  school. 

December  5,  1770,  Governor  Tryon  suggested  to  the  As- 
sembly the  wisdom  of  establishing  in  the  back  country  a 
school  for  "higher  learning,"  and  the  idea  met  with  the 
prompt  approval  of  the  representatives.  A  committee  was 
appointed  to  consider  the  matter,  and  the  chairman.  Edmund 
Fanning,  soon  presented  a  bill  establishing  and  endowing 
Queen's  College,  in  Charlotte,  and  it  was  enacted  and  ap- 
proved by  the  Governor  January  15.  1771.  The  board  of 
trustees  included  the  most  distinguished  men  in  the  county. 
and  they  met  March  i.  1771,  and  elected  Edmund  Fanning 
president,  and  three  tutors,  of  whom  Rev.  Joseph  Alexander 
was  one;  and  Thomas  Polk  was  elected  treasurer.  This  in- 
stitution began  with  favorable  indications  of  success,  but  it 


^.^  ^^ 


\ 


i 


i 


-** 


EDUCATION  BEFORE  180O.  73 

was  hampered  by  the  dissensions  in  the  county,  caused  by 
the  court  house  controversy,  land  troubles  and  Regulators. 
In  June,  1773,  Governor  Martin  issued  a  proclamation  giv- 
mg  notice  that  the  king  had  disallowed  the  charter.  The  only 
apparent  reason  was  that  the  college,  being  in  a  Presbyterian 
stronghold,  would  tend  .to  encourage  dissenters  from  the  es- 
tablished Church  of  England.  The  school  continued  for 
some  time  without  a  charter,  though  the  patronage  was  not 
encouragmg. 

In  1773,  Martin  Phifer  endeavored  to  get  a  new  charter 
for  the  Charlotte  school  under  the  title  of  Queen's  Museum. 
Though  his  effort  was  unsuccessful,  the  people  of  the  town 
in  the  next  year  began  a  school  under  that  name  as  successor 
to  Queen's  College,  which  had  been  abandoned.  Thomas 
Polk.  Abraham  Alexander  and  others,  persevered  in  the 
face  of  repeated  disaster  in  their  desire  to  have  a  high  grade 
school  in  Charlotte.  John  McEwen  was  given  a  diploma  by 
Queen's  Museum  in  1 776,  but  about  that  time  the  name  was 
again  changed,  this  time  to  Liberty  Hall  Academy. 

Liberty  Hall  Academy  was  incorporated  in  1777,  and  Rob- 
ert Brownfield,  of  Mecklenburg,  was  president  for  the  first 
year.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  McWhorter.  of  New  Jersey, 
who  held  the  office  until  the  institution  was  closed  in  1 780  on 
account  of  Cornwallis'  invasion.  It  enjoyed  great  prosper- 
ity during  the  first  years  of  its  existence,  but  the  war  im- 
peded its  progress  until  finally  it  was  forced  to  suspend. 

In  1760,  Crowfield  Academy  was  established  about  two 
and  a  half  miles  northeast  of  the  present  site  of  Davidson 
College.  It  continued  in  great  usefulness  until  the  British 
invasion  in  1780,  during  which  time  instruction  was  given 
to  many  men  who  afterwards  became  prominent. 

These  first  schools  of  "higher  learning"  included  Latin, 
Greek,  Hebrew,  Philosophy  and  Theology  in  their  course  of 
instruction,  in  addition  to  that  of  the  common  schools.  They 
were  supported  by  tuition,  donations,  a  tax  on  liquor,  and 
occasionally  lotteries  were  allowed  to  assist  them.  Girls  did 
not  attend  them,  as  the  necessity  for  their  education  equal 
with  bovs  was  not  then  manifest,  and  all  the  instruction  they 


74  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

received  was  merely  enough  to  equip  them  to  study  the  Bible 
and  Catechism. 

The  more  prominent  citizens  of  these  times  possessed  con- 
siderable libraries,  but  among  the  poorer  classes  books  were 
scarce.  At  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  a  few  books 
of  a  substantial  character  were  owned  by  almost  every  fam- 
ily. The  Bible  was  the  most  popular,  and  the  others  gener- 
ally used  were  the  Westminster  Confession  among  the  Pres- 
byterians, Luther's  Bible  and  Catechism  among  the  Ger- 
mans, and  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  among  the  few  ad- 
herents of  the  Established  Church.  The  Almanac  was  about 
the  only  current  literature  obtainable,  except  in  rare  in- 
stances, when  the  leading  men  would  go  to  Charleston  to 
trade  and  would  bring  back  some  newspapers. 


Authority: — County  Records,  Bills,  Receipts,  Personal 
Accounts,  Raper's  Church  and  Private  School  History,  and 
Charles  Lee  Smith's  History  of  Education  in  North  Caro- 
lina issued  bv  the  Federal  Government  in  1888. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

RELIGION  AND   CHURCHES  FROM  1748   TO   1800. 

Presbyteriaus  Most  Numerous  in  the  Early  Times— Rev.  Hugh  Mc- 
Aden,  Rev.  John  Thompson  and  Rev.  Alexander  Craighead  the 
First  Preachers— Seven  Noted  Churches  and  Some  of  Their  Cus- 
toms. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  the  two  principal  classes  of 
the  people  who  settled  Mecklenburg-  were  the  Germans  and 
the  Scotch-Irish.  The  Germans  were  Lutherans  and  Ger- 
man Reform  in  their  religious  beliefs,  while  the  Scotch- 
Irish,  who  were  their  superiors  in  numbers,  were  Presbyte- 
rians. In  1755,  when  Governor  Dobbs  made  his  visit  to  this 
section  of  the  province,  he  reported  that  these  Scotch-Irish 
had  joined  in  bands  of  twenty  or  more  families  in  order  to 
have  teachers  and  preachers  of  their  own  choosing. 

A  deed  recorded  in  1765  mentions  the  ''old  meeting 
house"  on  Rocky  river,  which  was  probably  built  in  1758,  as 
Dobbs  would  no  doubt  have  recorded  the  fact  had  there  been 
a  church  in  the  county  at  the  time  of  his  visit.  In  1755, 
however,  the  congregations  of  Rocky  river  and  Sugar 
creek  petitioned  the  New  York  Synod  for  a  preacher,  but 
none  was  sent  at  that  time.  Rev.  John  Thompson  was 
preaching  in  the  county  in  1752. 

In  October  and  November  of  1755,  Rev.  Hugh  McAden 
made  a  missionary  journey  through  the  county,  and  reported 
that  he  preached  to  "some  pretty  serious  and  judicious  peo- 
ple," and  that  "all  had  great  desire  for  the  Gospel  and  took 
much  interest  in  spiritual  things."  He  preached  at  the  homes 
of  Moses  Alexander,  Major  Harris,  David  Caldwell,  James 
Alexander,  and  in  the  Waxhaw  settlements.  November  23, 
he  was  at  the  church  "five  miles  from  Henry  White's." 
and  this  was  the  first  church  ever  used  in  the  county. 

Rev.  Alexander  Craig-head.  of  Augusta  county,  Va.,  ac- 


76  HISTORY  OF    MECKI.ICNBUKG  COLNTV. 

cepted  the  call  to  the  kock\-  river  and  Sugar  creek  cont^re- 
gatiuns  in  1759,  and  at  this  time  both  the  congregations 
had  churches.  When  McAden  visited  the  county  he  found 
the  Presbyterians  divided  into  two  parties,  i>ne  of  which  was 
called  the  "Xew  Side"  and  favored  the  revivalist  practices  of 
Whitfield,  while  the  "Old  Side"  was  opposed  to  theni.  Craig- 
head was  a  revixalist  and  a  follower  of  Whitfield,  and  a 
majority  were  in  his  favor,  but  after  his  death,  in  1766.  the 
"New  Side"  lost  prestige  and  ne\  er  regained  it  excej)!  for  a 
brief  while  in  1800,  when  the  great  revival  swept  over  this 
part  of  the  State. 

The  career  of  this  first  minister  is  full  of  interest.  That 
he  was  independent  and  fearless  in  thought  and  action  is 
evidenced  by  his  withdrawal  from  the  Philadelphia  Synod 
in  1 74 1,  at  which  time  he  was  accused  of  "irregularities"  in 
his  teachings,  and  he  in  turn  accused  his  accusers  of  coldness, 
formality  and  Pharisaism.  He  Avas  courageous  and  felt 
strongly,  but  he  controlled  his  feelings  within  the  bounds  of 
reason  and  order.  The  Scotch-Irish  were  loyal  to  the  gov- 
ernment, but  demanded  the  right  to  choose  their  own  reli- 
gious instructors,  believing  the  prevention  of  it  meant  de- 
struction of  religious  liberty. 

The  years  intervening  between  1755  and  1770  may  be 
termed  the  firmatixe  i^eriod  of  the  county,  in  religious  af- 
fairs as  in  all  others.  The  unsettled  conditions,  the  bound- 
ary dispute,  the  hostility  of  the  Indians  and  the  fierce 
struggle  for  existence  in  a  country  with  no  roads,  markets 
far  away  and  little  or  no  currency,  makes  it  wonderful  that 
even  a  little  was  accomplished  in  the  higher  walks  of  life. 
The  settlers  of  Sugar  creek  selected  a  site  for  a  common 
burial  place  in  1763.  and  the  oldest  marked  grave  in  that 
hallowed  spot  bears  the  date  of  that  year. 

Before  1770.  there  were  Presbyterians,  Lutherans.  Ger- 
man Calvinists,  a  few  Baptists,  and  some  extreme  followers 
of  Whitfield  known  as  "New  Lights."  in  Mecklenburg  coun- 
ty. Presbyterians  and  Germans  alone  had  established 
churches  by  that  time.  The  churches  at  Steele  creek.  Hoj^e- 
well.  Center.  Sugar  creek.  Rocky  river.  Poplar  Tent.  Xew 


RELIGION  AND  CHURCHES  FROM   1 748  TO  180O.  ']'] 

Providence,  Coldwater,  the  German  churches  west  of  the 
Catawba  and  the  Clear  creek  church  had  all  assumed  a  per- 
manent place  in  our  local  history  and  had  begun  the  impor- 
tant part  they  afterwards  accomplished  in  the  development 
of  the  county. 

With  the  more  perfect  organization  of  the  Presbyterian 
churches  and  the  settlement  here  O'f  several  preachers  of  that 
faith  who  claimed  equal  authority  with  ministers  of  the  Es- 
tablished church,  the  question  of  removing-  the  restrictions 
which  prevented  Presbyterian  ministers  from  performing  the 
marriage  ceremony,  began  to  be  agitated.  A  justice  of  the 
peace  was  permitted  to  perform  the  ceremony  provided  a 
license  had  been  obtained  from  the  clerk  of  the  court,  for 
which  a  fee  of  twenty  shillings  was  charged.  In  January, 
1 77 1,  the  Assembly  enacted  a  law,  introduced  by  Edmund 
Fanning  at  the  instigation  of  Thomas  Polk,  which  allowed 
Presbyterian  ministers  to  solemnize  the  rites  of  marriage  by 
publication  in  their  assemblies  or  by  license. 

After  the  coming  of  Rev.  Joseph  Alexander  to  Sugar 
creek,  in  1767,  the  churches  in  this  county  made  great  prog- 
ress for  several  years.  This  was  due  tO'  the  more  frequent 
preaching,  the  cessation  of  Indian  outrages,  and  the  end 
of  the  old  religious  controversy.  The  churches  did  not  en- 
joy peace  even  after  this,  for  a  new  dissension  aro'se  over  the 
discussions  as  to  whether  or  not  it  was  right  to  sing  any- 
thing but  the  Psalms  in  the  churches.  Craighead  had  used 
no  other  hymns,  and  Rev.  Joseph  Alexander  followed  in  his 
footsteps,  and  Rev.  H.  J.  Balch  did  not  raise  the  question  in 
his  day.  The  question  was  opened  by  the  advent  of  Revs. 
James  McRee,  Thomas  H.  McCaule  and  Robert  Archibald, 
who  desired  to  use  Watt's  hymns.  The  agitators  finally 
w^on,  but  a  new  church  was  formed  by  some  whose  con- 
sciences would  not  allow  them  to  sing  anything  except  "in- 
spired psalmody." 

During  the  year  1770,  those  members  of  Providence 
church  who  lived  near  Clear  creek  established  a  church  more 
convenient  to  their  neighborhood,  and  united  with  Provi- 
dence in  securing  the  services  of  a  pastor.      Revs.   Reese, 


/H  HISTORY   OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

McRee,  Archibald  and  Barr  ministered  to  them  until  1792, 
when  Rev.  James  W'allis  became  their  pastor  and  served  the 
churches  until  his  death  in  1819.  Sardis  church  was  formed 
about  1794  by  some  members  of  Providence  and  Clear  creek 
who  were  dissatisfied  with  the  introduction  of  Watt's  hymns 
by  Rev.  W'allis.  Lower  Steele  creek  churcii  was  organized 
in  1794  by  Rev.  William  Blacksocks,  of  the  faith  of  Asso- 
ciate Reformed  Presbyterians. 

During  the  war,  especially  in  1780  and  1781,  the  churches 
were  greatly  disturbed.  After  peace  was  declared,  the  doc- 
trines of  the  French  skeptics  began  to  be  discussed.  A  soci- 
ety composed  of  prominent  church  members  was  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  considering  the  new  theories,  and  some  men 
openly  avowed  disbelief  in  all  things.  For  ten  years  the 
power  of  the  society  grew,  and  the  dissensions  attracted 
much  attention,  but  the  whole  movement  was  combatted 
from  the  very  first  by  all  the  ministers.  Efforts  to  check  the 
growth  of  the  skepticism  were  unavailing,  and  the  churches 
suffered  much  until  the  great  revival  at  Providence  in  1802, 
when  many  of  the  infidels  were  converted. 

Growth  of  the  churches  was  attended  with  many  other 
difficulties,  as  the  worldly-minded  were  as  plentiful  then  as 
at  any  time.  Dancing,  horse  racing,  gambling,  card  play- 
ing, drunkenness  and  neglect  of  public  worship  were  the 
sins  that  enticed  the  church  meml>ers.  Then  there  were 
always  some  differences  of  belief.  Rev.  Roller!  Archibald 
was  suspended  from  the  ministry  in  1794  because  he  preach- 
ed the  doctrine  of  universal  salvation.  In  1779.  Little  Steele 
creek  church  was  formed  by  members  who  left  Lower  Steele 
creek  church  because  of  a  dispute  as  to  whether  it  was  neces- 
sary to  fast  the  day  before  the  administration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  Regeneration,  baptism,  total  depravity,  original  sin. 
and  free  moral  agency  were  also  discussed.  Considering 
all  these  difficulties,  it  is  wonderful  that  the  churches  made 
any  progress.  Their  final  victory  can  only  be  accounted  for 
by  the  fact  that  they  stood  as  the  representatives  of  that 
higher  spiritual  life  without  which  society  can  not  long  exist. 

One  method  used  to  raise  money  for  church  purposes  was 


RELIGION  AND  CHURCHES  FROM   1 748  TO  180O.  79 

the  renting  of  pews.  A  member  was  usually  appointed  every 
quarter  to  collect  these  rents.  Thirty-two  shillings  a  year 
was  charged  for  one  seat  or  pew,  but  free  seats  of  some  kind 
were  provided  for  those  who  could  not  afford  to  pay.  Be- 
fore 1800,  the  Presbyterian  church  had  more  strength  than 
all  other  churches  in  the  county  combined.  The  Methodists 
built  their  first  "meeting  house"  just  before  the  close  of  the 
century,  and  it  is  yet  Harrison  M.  E.  church,  near  where 
the  Charlotte  and  Lancaster,  S.  C,  road  crosses  the  State 
line.  James  Jonathan  and  Daniel  Mills  were  the  founders 
of  this  organization. 


Authority: — Personal  Accounts,  County  Records,  Pam- 
phlets and  Church  Records. 


CHAPTER   XVI. 

DOCTORS   AND    MEDICINES   BEFORE    1800. 

First  Physicians  in  the  County  and  the  Leading  Ones  of  the  Period. 
— Methods  of  Practice  and  the  Medicines  Used — Prevalence  of 
Witchcraft  and  Its  Treatment. 

When  Mecklenburg  county  was  formed,  it  is  doubtful 
whether  there  was  a  resident  doctor  in  the  county,  except 
such  as  modern  science  would- regard  as  nurses.  The  first 
regular  j)hysician  of  whom  there  is  any  record  of  his  prac- 
ticing in  Mecklenburg  was  Dr.  John  Newman  Oglethorpe, 
of  Rowan,  in  1764.  In  1766,  the  administrator  of  Valen- 
tine Bellinger  reported  that  he  had  paid  a  "Doctor  Cantzon" 
twelve  shillings.  Dellinger  lived  in  what  is  now  Lincoln 
county. 

The  first  resident  physician  and  the  first  man  of  medical 
education  who  practiced  his  profession  in  the  present  coimty 
of  Mecklenburg  was  Dr.  Joseph  Kennedy.  A  record  of  this 
physician's  labors  bears  the  date  of  1766,  but  it  is  likely  that 
he  practiced  a  few  years  earlier  than  that  date.  Dr.  Ken- 
nedy died  in  1778.  The  next  resident  physician  was  Dr. 
Ephraim  Brevard,  who  certainly  began  the  practice  of  his 
profession  as  early  as  1772,  when  he  began  to  have  accounts 
against  several  estates  for  "medicine  and  visits." 

In  1773  and  1774,  "Dr.  Newman"  practiced  in  the  Hope- 
well section  of  the  county.  He  probably  li\ed  in  Rowan.  In 
1777,  Dr.  Felix  Pitt  was  a  resident  physician.  In  his  ac- 
count with  William  Barnett.  in  1778.  such  items  as  a  "visit" 
at  eight  shillings,  a  "large  blister  Plaister"  at  fifteen  shil- 
lings, "seven  Aperient  powders"  at  seventeen  and  one-half 
shillings,  and  "a  Pectoral  Mixfure"  at  one  pound  two  and 
one-half  shillings,  were  charged. 

In  1780.  Dr.  Thomas  Henderson,  who  was  a  Mecklenburg 
school  teacher  in  1774.  appeared  in  the  records  as  a  physi- 
cian.    For  nearlv  thirtv-six  vears  afterwards  he  seems  to 


DOCTORS  AND  MEDICINES  BEFORE    180O.  81 

have  been  the  leading  physician  in  this  county,  his  practice 
extending  to  every  part  of  it.  About  the  same  time  Dr. 
Henderson  began  to  practice  in  Charlotte,  Dr.  James  R.  Al- 
exander began  to  practice  at  Hopewell.  When  Isaac  Alex- 
ander's services  as  teacher  in  Queen's  Museum  terminated  in 
the  Fall  of  1776,  he  began  the  study  of  medicine,  but  it  was 
not  until  1782  that  he  began  active  practice.  When  Dr. 
Ephraim  Brevard's  property  was  sold  at  public  sale  in  1782, 
Dr.  Isaac  Alexander,  Dr.  Thcrias  Henderson,  Dr.  James 
R.  Alexander  and  a  Dr.  Dysirt  are  noted  as  purchasers  of 
"physic."  It  is  more  than  li.  '  /  that  they  were  the  only  res- 
ident physicians  in  this  county  at  that  time. 

In  1780,  when  the  smallpox  was  epidemic  in  the  county, 
having  been  brought  here  by  the  British  and  the  American 
armies,  Dr.  James  Alexander  vaccinated  many  of  the  people 
of  his  section.  In  one  family  he  vaccinated  ten  persons, 
charging  one  pound  currency  for  each  "innoculation" — prob- 
ably depreciated  continental  currency.  While  this  epidemic 
was  prevailing,  Catherine  Blackwelder,  of  Cabarrus,  acted 
as  a  nurse  and  nO'  doubt  saved  many  lives  by  her  care  and 
self-sacrifice.  Some  of  those  who  were  the  recipients  of  her 
attentions  paid  her,  but  the  money  was  the  almost  worthless 
continental  currency  of  the  time,  so  that  she  never  received 
any  adequate  compensation  for  her  heroic  efforts  to  save  the 
lives  of  her  friends  and  neighbors.  Henry  Probst,  of 
Cabarrus,  in  1789,  rendered  an  account  against  one  of 
his  neighbors  for  "four  fisicks  and  rideing."  He  was  not 
a  physician,  but  no  doubt  had  some  knowledge  of  medicine. 

It  is  a  fact  not  now  generally  known  that  some  of  the 
early  settlers  in  this  section  regarded  many  diseases  as 
directly  due  to  the  power  and  influence  of  witches.  These 
ideas  especially  prevailed  among  the  ignorant  of  all  nation- 
alities. However,  there  is  no  record  in  this  county  from 
which  it  could  be  inferred  that  anyone  was  ever  punished 
for  witchcraft,  witches  generally  being  regarded  here  as 
spirits  of  evil  influence  who  made  their  journeys  at  night 
and  brought  their  baneful  influence  to  bear  on  horses,  cattle, 
and  human  beings.   There  were  those  in  every  neighborhood 


82  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

who  professed  to  be  able  to  drive  away  witches  or  reheve 
those  who  had  been  put  under  their  influence.  The  methods 
of  these  so-called  "witch  doctors"  were  often  ludicrous.  For 
instance,  children  who  were  said  to  be  "bewitched"  were  sub- 
jected to  a  treatment  which  consisted  in  placing  a  ladder  on 
end  against  a  building  and  passing  the  bodies  of  the  children 
up  through  the  successive  rungs  of  the  ladder  after  the  fash- 
ion of  weaving,  then  repeating  the  process  from  top  to  bot- 
tom. 

There  are  traditional  instances  which  relate  how  the 
"witch  doctors"  tried  to  cure  cases  of  serious  sickness  by- 
means  of  methods  which  border  on  those  now  practiced  by 
the  faith  healers.  In  the  particular  cases  referred  to,  the 
^'witch  doctors"  began  their  treatment  by  reconciling  any 
family  differences  with  neighbors,  even  to  the  extent  of  re- 
turning all  borrowed  property,  after  which  the  treatment 
consisted  of  "words"  or  "prayers,"  sometimes  accompanied 
with  anointing  the  parts  of  the  body  which  seemed  to  be 
the  seat  of  the  "witches"  with  concoctions,  the  making  and 
compounding  of  which  was  a  secret  to  all  except  those  initia- 
ted. Even  after  1800,  they  who  professed  to  cure  the  evils 
brought  on  human  beings  by  witches  were  found  in  many 
parts  of  the  original  territory  of  Mecklenburg. 

Investigation  discloses  the  fact  that  women  in  rare  in- 
stances were  regarded  as  possessing  the  power  of  witches. 
In  such  cases  they  were  shunned  by  the  superstitious.  Men 
could  teach  women  how  to  cure  certain  diseases  attributed  to 
the  power  of  the  witches,  but  men  could  not  initiate  men  into 
the  mysteries  of  such  an  art,  that  being  only  possible  to  a 
woman.  It  is  not  known  how  the  first  man  acquired  the 
power  which  enabled  him  to  drive  away  witches  or  to  relieve 
the  sufferings  supposed  to  be  due  to  their  influence. 

By  the  year  1790.  three  other  physicians  had  begun  to 
practice  in  this  county.  They  were  William  Strain,  who 
lived  in  what  is  now  Cabarrus,  and  Alexander  Cummins, 
who  resided  somewhere  in  the  northern  part  of  the  county, 
and  Thomas  Donnell.  A  year  or  .two  later.  Dr.  Charles  Har- 
ris began  the  practice  of  his  profession.    He  lived  in  what  is 


DOCTORS  AND  MEDICINES  BEEORE    i8oO.  83 

now  Cabarrus.  Dr.  Harris  was  an  educated  man,  and  with 
Dr.  Henderson  and  Dr.  Alexander,  seems  to  have  enjoyed 
a  large  practice. 

Between  1790  and  1800,  the  other  Mecklenburg  physi- 
cians were  Frederick  Croner,  William  Morrison,  Joseph  Mc- 
Knitt  Alexander,  and  Cyrus  Alexander.  Dr.  Joseph  Ram- 
sey and  Dr.  John  Sibley,  both  of  Rowan,  practiced  in  parts 
of  the  county  during  this  period,  as  well  as  Dr.  Samuel  C. 
Dunlap,  of  Lancaster  county.  South  Carolina,  and  Dr.  Wil- 
liam Kerr,  of  York  county,  in  the  same  State. 

Of  all  these  men.  Dr.  Croner,  who  lived  in  Charlotte, 
seems  to  have  taken  most  pains  to  display  his  knowledge  of 
Latin.  His  accounts  were  full  of  such  phrases  as  per  noctem 
and  eodem  die,  among  other  peculiarities.  All  these  doctors 
put  great  confidence  in  a  drug  known  as  "cooling  powders," 
as  well  as  "blisters,"  "sulphur,"  "magnesia,"  "bark,"  "unc- 
tion" and  "cream  tartar." 

During  this  period  there  were  many  women  in  various 
parts  of  the  county  who  had  some  skill  in  the  treatment  of 
diseases,  especially  of  a  disease  which  the  people  called 
"white  swelling."  Several  bills  and  receipts  remain,  all 
signed  by  women,  for  services  in  treating  this  affection. 


Authority: — County  Records,   Official  Papers,   Personal 
Correspondence,  Family  Traditions  and  Business  Accounts. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

SLAVERY  BEFORE  1800. 

Introduction  of  the  System  Was  Slow — Conditions  of  Labor — No  One 
Owned  More  Than  a  Dozen  Slaves — Prices,  Habits  and  Ability 
of  the  Negroes — Only  a  Few  Were  Skilled  Laborers. 

The  first  immigrants  to  Mecklenburg  brought  with  them 
but  few  slaves.  Those  settlers  who  came  from  Pennsylva- 
nia and  Maryland  were  searching  for  a  new  and  freer  land 
wherein  to  dwell,  and  in  the  uncertainty  of  their  ultimate 
location,  it  is  improbable  that  they  were  encumbered  with 
slaves,  who  would  then  and  for  some  time  afterwards  have 
been  more  trouble  than  their  services  would  justify. 
Those  who  came  from  Virginia  brought  a  few  slaves ;  they 
knew  where  they  were  going,  were  acquainted  with  the  na- 
ture of  the  country  and  did  not  have  to  move  so  far  as 
those  from  the  North. 

Another  reason  why  the  introduction  of  slavery  into  the 
county  was  so  slow,  was  that  most  of  the  settlers  were  poor 
people  and  could  not  afford  servants.  They  were  searching 
for  a  region  where  they  could  live  by  their  own  industry 
without  fear  of  tyrannical  and  arbitrary  interference.  The 
work  of  pioneers  was  not  suited  to  the  slaves,  and  the  un- 
settled condition  of  the  country  offered  too  many  induce- 
ments to  them  to  run  away.  After  government  was  firmly 
established  and  these  first  settlers  had  achieved  some  success 
in  worldly  riches,  the  grcAvth  of  slavery  was  steady. 

It  was  so  easy  in  those  days  to  live  independently  that  hired 
labor  of  every  kind  was  scarce.  Each  man  built  his  little 
cabin  and  began  work  for  himself.  Game  was  plentiful,  and 
not  much  industry  was  necessary  for  obtaining  necessities  of 
life.  Hence  it  was  very  difficult  to  hire  anyone,  and  each 
farmer  had  to  do  his  own  work  until  he  could  by  diligence 
and  economy  save  enough  to  buy  a  slave.  Governor  Dobbs 
said  that  from  1750  to  1764,  "the  number  of  laborers  and 


SLAVERY  BEFORE  180O.  85 

artificers  in  comparison  with  the  number  of  planters  was 
small."  Laborers  were  paid  from  three  to  six  shillings  a 
day  for  work  which  was  much  less  than  a  day's  work  in  Eng- 
land, so  the  price  of  labor  in  Mecklenburg  was  higher  than  in 
the  mother  country. 

When  a  farmer  accumulated  enough  money  to  buy  a  slave, 
he  would  go  to  Charleston  and  buy  what  the  first  sale  lists 
called  a  "negro  wench"  or  a  negro'  man;  paying  for  a  female 
an  amount  about  equal  to  four  hundred  dollars,  and  for  an 
able-bodied  man  perhaps  as  much  as  one  hundred  dollars 
more.  When  the  county  was  formed  in  1762,  there  were 
only  a  few  slave  owners  in  this  section.  The  first  recorded 
sale  of  a  negrO'  at  auction  in  Mecklenburg  was  at  Hugh 
Irwin's  sale  in  1764.  when  a  "negro"  was  sold  for  seventy- 
five  pounds.  Previous  to  1774,  not  more  than  two  slaves 
were  disposed  of  at  any  public  sale  of  an  estate,  though  it  is 
certain  that  some  persons  owned  more  than  that  number  be- 
fore that  date.  At  Moses  Alexander's  sale  in  1774,  "a.  negro 
wench  and  child  and  fellow''  were  sold  for  one  hundred  and 
seventy-five  pounds,  "a  negro  wench  and  child"  for  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  pounds,  one  "negro  man"  for  sixty-nine 
pounds  and  another  for  one  hundred  and  twenty-three 
pounds,  a  "negro  wench"  for  eighty-eight  pounds  and  a 
"negro  child"  for  thirty-six  pounds.  This  was  the  largest 
slave  sale  held  in  the  county  before  the  Revolution,  Moses 
Alexander  being  the  largest  slave  owner  of  his  day. 

By  this  time,  slaves  had  learned  how  to  run  away  from 
their  masters.  In  1769,  George  Cathey  charged  Archibald 
Cathey  three  pounds  and  four  shillings  for  going  to  New- 
bern  "after  runaway  negroes."  The  sparsely  settled  coun- 
try then  afforded  many  avenues  of  escape  to  the  runaways, 
and  their  capture  was  attended  with  difficulties.  There  wxre 
in  the  county  a  few  white  "indentured  servants"  who  had 
been  sent  over  from  England  because  oi  debt  or  crime,  but 
this  class  entirely  disappeared  with  the  Revolution.  One  of 
these,  Johnston  Clark,  was  sold  at  Archibald  Cathey's  sale 
in  1777,  and  was  purchased  by  Josiah  Cathey  for  twenty-one 


86  HISTORY  OK   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

f>ounds.     Hezekiah  Alexander  freed  an  "indented  slave"  in 
1772. 

Even  before  the  Revolution,  there  was  opposition  to  slav- 
ery because  of  economic  reasons.  The  Rowan  county  com- 
mittee of  safety,  August  8,  1774,  adopted  resolutions  which 
fairly  expressed  the  views  of  a  majority  of  the  people  of  this 
whole  section,  declaring:  "That  the  African  trade  is  in- 
jurious to  this  colony,  obstructs  the  population  of  it  by  free- 
men, prevents  manufacturers  and  other  useful  emigrants 
from  Europe  from  settling  among  us,  and  occasions  an  an- 
nual balance  of  trade  against  the  colonies."  During  the 
Revolutionary  war,  the  progress  of  slave  trade  was  very 
slow,  and  not  until  after  the  United  States  government  was 
fully  established  did  it  take  on  new  life. 

The  British  invasion  in  1780  and  the  events  of  the  war 
during  the  next  year  caused  slave  owners  much  annoyance 
in  the  control  of  their  slaves.  The  British  promised  free- 
dom to  all  slaves  who  would  join  their  forces,  but  only  a  few 
accepted  the  invitation  and  nearly  all  these  were  finally  re- 
gained by  their  owners.  A  great  number,  however,  took 
advantage  of  the  exciting  times  and  endeavored  to  escape. 
John  Sample  owned  one  who  ran  away  seven  times  in  1781 
and  1782,  but  was  caught  every  time. 

In  the  year  1791,  the  county  court  empowered  the  sheriff 
to  seize  and  sell  at  auction  all  horses  found  in  the  possession 
of  slaves  who  v^ere  off  the  plantations  of  their  masters.  The 
reason  given  for  this  action  was  that  "danger  to  life  and  in- 
juries of  various  kinds  would  likely  result  from  the  posses- 
sion of  horses  by  negro  slaves."  Two  years  later,  the  court 
ordered  the  ofiftcers  to  arrest  and  confine  in  the  county  jail 
all  negroes  "ranging  at  large  during  public  meetings  in  the 
town  of  Charlotte  except  such  as  carried  passes  from  their 
masters,"  and  that  "in  case  of  an  arrest  of  this  kind,  the 
owner  of  the  slave  shall  pay  all  costs  of  the  action."  The 
reason  assigned  for  this  proceeding  was  that  "sundry  inju- 
ries have  arisen  to  the  owners  of  slaves  by  the  promiscuous 


SLAVERY  BEFORE  180O.  87 

mingling  of  the  negro  population  with  the  whites  on  public 
occasions." 

In  1 79 1,  a  negro  man  named  Ben  was  tried  by  the  court 
and  sentenced  to  death  for  burglary,  and  in  1793  a  slave 
named  Simon  was  similarly  sentenced  for  a  like  offense.  One 
Sunday  in  the  Spring  of  1793,  Ben,  Joe  and  Sam,  slaves  liv- 
ing near  Providence,  came  to  Charlotte  and  stole  a  ten  gallon 
keg  of  whiskey  from  a  spring  house.  After  getting  drunk, 
they  stole  a  horse  from  a  pasture  and  rode  off,  but  were  soon 
apprehended,  tried  and  sentenced  to  receive  fifty  lashes  on 
the  bare  back.  Their  owners  were  taxed  with  all  costs,  and 
in  this  trial  slaves  served  as  witnesses,  but  were  not  sworn. 

During  the  last  decade  before  1800,  the  largest  slave 
owners  in  the  county  were  T.  Hood,  John  Ford  and  James 
Walkup,  who  owned  eight,  nine  and  twelve  slaves  respec- 
tively. The  names  of  slaves  are  interesting  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  they  often  suggested  the  character  and  education 
of  the  owners.  Hood's  were  named  Jacob,  Charlotte,  Weyer, 
Dinah,  Hannah,  Josiah  and  Prudence;  Ford's  were  Phebe, 
Dinah,  Sylvia,  Charlotte,  Jack,  Dice,  Will  and  Julius. 
Walkup's  slaves  were  sold  in  1798  for  prices  ranging  from 
twenty-five  to  four  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  each, 
and  among  them  were  Titus,  Farrabo  and  Prince.  Rev. 
Samuel  Kennedy  called  his :  Romulus,  Juno,  Daphne,  Al- 
pheus,  Joseph  and  Terah. 

By  the  will  of  John  Wilson,  who  died  in  1795,  it  was  pro- 
vided that  one  of  his  slaves,  a  negro  man  named  Plumb, 
should  be  given  his  freedom.  The  county  court  in  the  next 
year  recommended  Plumb  to  the  General  Assembly  as  worthy 
of  emancipation  and  his  freedom  was  secured.  This  pro- 
ceeding was  not  uncommon  in  Mecklenburg  in  the  latter 
part  of  the  century. 

Before  1800,  it  was  rare  that  a  slave  owner  taught  his 
slaves  to  do  anything  but  farm  work.  In  1785,  David  Alli- 
son charged  James  Cannon,  of  the  Hopewell  section,  twelve 
pounds  for  one  month's  work  of  two  negro  tailors,  and  some 
negroes  were  employed  in  wagon  shops  and  other  places  of 


88  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

the  kind,  but  there  was  a  widespread  prejudice  against  the 
use  of  slave  labor  in  occupations  of  skill  on  account  of  its 
competition  with  free  white  labor.  With  the  invention  of 
the  cotton  gin  and  the  resultant  increase  in  cotton  produc- 
tion, slave  labor  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  it  was  util- 
ized in  nearly  all  occupations.  This  left  the  poor  whites  no 
alternative  but  to  work  in  competition  with  the  slaves  trained 
by  the  whites  in  more  fortunate  circumstances,  who  had.  as 
a  consequence,  ceased  to  work. 


Authority: — County  and  Private  Records,   Printed   No- 
tices, Receipts  and  Bills. 


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CHAPTER  XVIII. 

FIRST  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY.    (1800  to  1825.) 

Statistics  of  Wealth  and  Population  of  the  County  and  City — Im- 
provements in  Public  Buildings — Proceedings  and  Methods  of 
the  Courts— Richest  Man  in  the  County  Worth  $10,700. 

Statistics  recorded  in  the  early  years  of  our  history  are 
very  conflicting-  and  unsatisfactory,  the  cause  being  that  the 
monetary  system  was  unstable  and  oscillating  so  that  money 
values  were  not  always  the  same;  a  great  portion  of  prop- 
erty was  not  returned  for  taxation,  people  paid  taxes  where 
they  lived  on  property  wherever  it  might  be,  and  the  dif- 
ficulty attending  travel  made  the  duties  of  the  officers  hard  to 
fulfill.  Some  people  would  list  their  taxes  one  year  and  omit 
the  duty  the  next.  People  living  in  Charlotte  would  list  all 
their  slaves  in  the  county  as  though  they  lived  here,  thus 
causing  it  to  appear  that  the  blacks  greatly  outnumbered  the 
whites  in  the  town. 

Tax  returns  in  i8oo  for  Mecklenburg  county  included 
293,145  acres  of  land,  and  town  property  in  Charlotte  valued 
at  2,835  pounds.  The  county  tax  was  4  pence  on  100  acres 
of  land  and  i  shilling  on  each  poll  and  each  100  pounds  val- 
uation of  town  property.  All  white  men  between  the  ages 
of  twenty-one  and  fifty  were  subject  to  poll  tax,  and  they 
numbered  1,247;  ^1^  negroes  between  the  ages  of  twelve  and 
fifty  were  subject  to  the  tax,  and  they  numbered  854.  James 
Neel  was  sheriff  of  the  county  in  1800,  and  continued  in 
that  capacity  until  1802,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Robert 
Barry,  who,  the  next  year,  was  succeeded  by  William  Beatty, 
who  lived  but  a  few  months,  his  unexpired  term  being  filled 
by  John  Cook.  In  those  years,  the  law  allowed  the  county 
jailor  2s.  6d.  a  day  for  each  prisoner,  and  the  rations  for  the 
prison  inmates  consisted  daily  of  "one  pound  of  wholesome 
bread,  one  pound  O'f  good  roasted  or  boiled  meat  and  all  the 
water  needed." 


90  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG   COUNTY. 

At  the  July  term  of  court,  1802,  Thomas  Alexander  was 
deputized  to  erect  a  whipping  post  and  stocks  near  the  jail, 
and  Edwin  Jay  Osborne  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law. 
James  Potts  had  been  licensed  the  preceding  year.  The  State 
tax  in  that  year  amounted  to  627  pounds  in  Mecklenburg, 
and  of  this  amount  253  pounds  was  paid  on  cotton  machin- 
ery and  three  pounds  on  town  property.  The  tax  levied  by 
the  State  then  was  8d.  on  100  acres  of  land,  2s.  on  100 
pounds  valuation  of  town  property,  2s.  on  each  poll,  an  an- 
nual tax  of  ten  pounds  on  peddlers  and  a  tax  on  the  amount 
of  goods  sold  by  stores.  Mecklenburg's  State  tax  in  1803 
amounted  to  546  pounds,  654  in  1804  and  632  in  1805.  In 
the  latter  year,  212  pounds  tax  was  paid  on  cotton  gins, 
Mecklenburg  leading  all  the  other  counties  in  the  number  of 
gins. 

In  1803,  David  Cowan  was  appointed  standard  keeper  of 
weights  and  measures,  and  $58  was  allowed  him  with  which 
to  purchase  .the  necessary  outfit.  Samuel  Lowrie  was  ap- 
pointed State's  Attorney  at  the  July  court,  and  Dr.  Nathan 
Alexander,  David  Cowan  and  John  Sharpe  were  appointed 
a  committee  to  investigate  and  report  upon  the  advisability 
of  building  a  new  jail.  They  reported  in  favor  of  the  new 
building.  Cowan  resigned  as  standard  keeper  in  the  follow- 
ing year  and  William  Davidson  was  appointed  to  the  vacan- 
cy at  the  October  court.  The  same  court  licensed  John  Beat- 
ty  to  keep  a  tavern  in  Charlotte,  and  sentenced  Henry  Price 
to  confinement  for  one-half  an  hour  in  the  stocks  for  quar- 
reling, and  fined  Henry  Emberson  five  dollars  for  a  similar 
offense. 

At  the  April  term  of  court,  in  the  following  year,  Gen. 
George  Graham,  Capt.  William  Davidson  and  Isaac  Alexan- 
der were  appointed  commissioners  to  investigate  the  condi- 
tion of  the  public  buildings  and  the  finances  of  the  county. 
Though  they  and  the  sheriff  recommended  that  a  new  'jail 
should  be  built,  all  that  was  done  was  to  appropriate  ten 
pounds  for  repairs.  John  Black  was  appointed  county  sur- 
veyor.    At  this  time  the  system  of  patrolling  was  in  full 


COTTON  PLANT  IN  SEPTEMBER. 


COTTON  PLANT  IN  NOVEMBER. 


I 


FIRST  YEARS  OF  THE   NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  9I 


force,  and  six  patrols  were  appointed  for  the  Charlotte  mili- 
tia district,  and  these  patrols  were  of  much  service  in  pre- 
venting troubles  among  slaves  and  in  apprehending  the  run- 
aways. In  1805,  Nathaniel  Alexander,  of  Mecklenburg, 
was  elected  Governor  of  North  Carolina,  and  he  occupied 
the  office  for  one  term. 

Charlotte's  charter  was  amended  by  the  General  Assembly 
in  1807,  and  the  commissioners  appointed  were  William  Da- 
vidson, Archibald  Trice,  Joseph  Faires,  William  Allison  and 
William  Carson.  They  were  empowered  to  make  all  neces- 
sary rules  and  regulations  for  the  government  of  the  town 
and  to  enforce  them.  The  body  was  also  made  self-perpetu- 
ating; they  elected  their  own  successors. 

The  General  Assembly,  in  1806,  provided  for  Superior 
courts,  and  divided  .the  State  intO'  six  judicial  districts, 
Mecklenburg  being  in  the  sixth.  The  first  Superior  court 
was  accordingly  held  by  Judge  Francis  Locke  in  this  county 
in  the  following  January.  David  Cowan  was  the  first  Su- 
perior court  clerk,  and  Winfield  Mason  was  appointed  mas- 
ter in  equity.  Elections  in  those  times  were  held  at  the  res- 
idences of  John  Ray,  Robert  Hood  and  Margaret  Davidson, 
to  provide  for  all  sections  of  the  county,  though  any  resident 
could  vote  at  the  court  house  if  he  preferred.  The  election 
was  held  on  the  Tuesday  preceding  the  second  Thursday  in 
August,  and  began  at  noon  and  ended  at  sunset,  when  the 
ballot  boxes  were  sealed  and  carried  immediately  to  the 
court  house  in  Charlotte. 

Adlai  L.  Osborne  was  admitted  to  the  practice  of  law  in 
1808,  and  at  the  same  court  several  other  matters  of  inter- 
est transpired.  An  additional  ten  pounds  was  appropriated 
for  repairs  on  the  jail.  Two  slaves,  Ephraim  and  Moses, 
were  acquitted  of  the  charge  of  killing  Jack,  a  negro  belong- 
ing to  Joseph  Spratt,  and  Charles  Richmond  and  James 
Summers  were  fined  five  dollars  each  for  an  affray  in  the 
presence  of  the  court.  The  next  year,  William  Carson  was 
appointed  standard  keeper,  George  Hampton  sheriff,  Thomas 
Alexander  treasurer,  and  John  McKnitt  Alexander  county 


92  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG   COUNTY, 

trustee.  Archibald  Henderson,  an  attorney,  presented  to 
the  court  the  naturalization  papers  of  John  Patterson,  this 
being  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  on  record.  Authority  was 
given  to  sell  the  old  jail,  as  provision  for  a  new  one  had  been 
made.  That  year  is  notable  for  the  fact  that  the  United 
States  currency  law  went  into  effect,  and  thereafter  transac- 
tions were  made  in  dollars  and  cents.  In  1810,  at  the  July 
court,  James  Lewis  Crawford  transferred  to  William  Alli- 
son the  Mecklenburg  rights  of  Freeman's  patent  washing 
machine  for  a  term  of  fourteen  years,  and  the  contract  was 
registered.    In  this  year  also,  a  new  court  house  was  erected. 

The  war  with  England  in  181 2- 14,  did  not  directly  con- 
cern the  people  of  Mecklenburg,  and  the  issues  were  of  no 
material  consequence  to  them.  However,  this  did  not  pre- 
vent the  people  from  assisting  to  expel  the  foreign  forces, 
and  five  companies  of  Mecklenburg  troops  served  through- 
out the  war  and  did  noble  service  for  their  country.  There 
were  nearly  five  hundred  men  in  the  five  companies. 
After  the  defeat  of  the  British  at  New  Orleans,  Colonel 
Joseph  Graham  was  sent  with  his  regiment  against  the  Creek 
Indians  in  Alabama,  but  Gen.  Andrew  Jackson  had  com- 
pletely defeated  them  when  he  arrived. 

In  181 4,  there  were  in  Charlotte  237  town  lots,  valued  at 
$36,000;  five  stores,  seventy-eight  white  polls  and228blacks. 
It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  most  of  these  negroes  were  liv- 
ing on  farms  outside  of  Charlotte.  In  181 8,  there  were  sev- 
enty families  in  the  town  district.  In  the  next  year  the  town 
lots  were  valued  at  $41,400,  there  were  118  tax  payers  in 
Charlotte  and  there  were  thirty  stores  in  the  county.  In 
1830,  the  town  property  was  valued  at  $46,300,  and  there 
were  eleven  stores  in  the  town. 

The  court  held  in  July,  1823,  ordered  that  the  notices 
should  be  published  in  the  Western  Carolinian.  In  that  year 
also,  the  General  Assembly  incorporated  the  New  Provi- 
dence Library  Association,  which  was  organized  for  the  pur- 
poses of  general  reading  and  literary  culture.  The  Centre 
Library  Society  was  incorporated  in  1817.     In  1825,  there 


^IRST  YEARS  OF  THE  NINETEENTH   CENTURY.  93 

were  ^58  town  lots  returned  for  taxation;  William  Smith 
was  postmaster  in  Charlotte,  and  there  were  ten  other  post- 
offices  in  the  county.  At  that  time  the  population  of  Char- 
lotte was  about  seven  hundred.  The  public  buildmgs  consist- 
ed of  the  court  house,  jail  and  postoffice;  there  were  fourteen 
stores  several  taverns  and  a  number  of  persons  engaged  m 
the  industries  of  tailoring,  weaving,  wagon  making  and 
other  employments  requiring  skill.  Mills  and  shops  of  vari- 
ous kinds  were  in  operation  in  the  county.  There  wereper- 
haps  ten  lawyers  in  the  county  and  as  many  physicians. 
Drs  McKenzie  and  Caldwell  were  the  leading  practitioners. 
In  1819  William  Davidson  was  the  richest  man  m  the  coun- 
ty; he  owned  twenty-three  slaves,  1,835  acres  of  land,  and 
his  total  assessed  property  amounted  to  $io,70o_.  Jhomas 
G  Polk's  property  was  valued  at  $10,611,  and  eight  others 
in  the  county  were  worth  more  than  five  thousand  dollars 
each. 


Authority:— County  Records  and  Personal  Accounts. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

INTRODUCTION   OF  THE  COTTON   INDUSTRY.      (1790   to   1825.) 

First  Planting  in  the  Colonies  Was  Experimental— Little  Progress 
Made  Previous  to  the  Invention  of  the  Cotton  Gin — Two  Thousand 
Saws  in  Use  in  Mecklenburg  in  1803 — Rapid  Development  There- 
after. 

The  history  of  the  cultivation  of  cotton  goes  back  to  a 
thousand  years  before  the  Christian  era.  Details  of  the  first 
l)lanting,  and  even  the  introduction  of  it  into  the  United 
States,  do  not  immediately  concern  us  except  to  demonstrate 
the  wonderful  evolution  from  its  cultivation  for  mere  house- 
hold use  to  the  leading  industrial  feature  of  the  South. 
In  the  course  of  this  phenomenal  growth  and  expansion, 
there  are  some  points  of  peculiar  interest. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  first  colonists  who  came  over 
from  England  were  experimenters  and  adventurers.  They 
came  for  the  novelty  of  new  experiences,  and  consequently 
accomplished  but  little.  When  it  was  realized  that  the  New 
World  needed  men  who  were  willing  to  endure  hardships 
and  toil  for  poor  remuneration,  the  settlers  were  not  so  eager 
to  come,  but  those  who  did  venture  to  undertake  the  task  of 
building  a  new  country  were  of  a  practical  kind.  However, 
they  continued  to  experiment,  always  hoping  to  find  an 
easier  way  to  live. 

Cotton  planting  was  begun  by  the  first  permanent  settlers 
in  Virginia  in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century. 
They  hoped  that  something  good  would  come  of  it,  but  they 
were  hoping  without  reason,  for  cotton  was  not  then  a  prac- 
tical industry.  The  first  exportation  of  cotton,  consisting  of 
eight  bags  weighing  1,200  pounds,  was  made  from  Virginia 
in  1784.  When  Mecklenburg  was  settled,  between  1740  and 
1760,  the  pioneers  were  slow  to  undertake  the  planting  of 
cotton.     They  were  busy  with  the  building  of  their  homes, 


WHITNEY'S    ORIGINAL   MODEL. 


INTRODUCTION  OF  THE  COTTON  INDUSTRY.  95 

with  their  defense  and  with  the  sustenance  of  life.  The  small 
amount  of  ground  which  was  tilled  was  for  the  necessities 
of  life,  and  cotton  was  not  one  oi  them.  Nearly  everythmg 
used  by  them  was  produced  by  the  users,  and,  therefore, 
there  was  no  use  for  cotton  except  in  the  home.  Then  the 
difficulty  and  tediousness  of  separating  the  seed  and  the  lint 
served  to  retard  the  growth  of  the  industry. 

Ten  years  after  the  county  was  organized  with  an  estab- 
lished government,  the  Revolutionary  troubles  began.    Dur- 
ing the  war,  all  occupations  were  more  or  less  paralyzed, 
and  it  was  certainly  no  fit  time  for  introducing  a  new  one. 
After  the  war,  from  1782  to  1795,  considerable  cotton  was 
planted  in  the  county,  though  all  of  it  Was  for  use  m  the 
family.     The  lint  was  laboriously  picked  from  the  seed  by 
hand,  and  was  then  put  into  practical  form  by  means  of  the 
spinning  wheel  or  spinning  jenny  and  the  loom.    A  demand 
for  cotton  goods  sprang  up  and  people  began  to  plant  it  for 
purposes  of  sale.     The  great  and  constant  annoyance  was 
the  necessity  for  picking  the  cotton  by  hand ;  and  the  import- 
ance of  a  machine  to  replace  this  tedious  process  was  plain. 
Eli  Whitney,  a  young  New  Englander,    had    gone    to 
Georgia  to  teach  school,  and  was  living  at  the  residence  of 
the  widow  of  Gen.  Greene,  near  Savannah.    There  he  heard 
so  much  talk  of  the  necessity  for  the  invention  that  he  gave 
his  attention  to  the  matter.    In  1793,  he  made  the  model  of 
his  "gin,"  and  a  patent  was  obtained  in  the  followmg  year. 
In  1796,  Hodgen  Holmes,  of  Augusta,  Ga.,  made  a  very  im- 
portant improvement  by  substituting  the  saw  for  the  wire- 
spiked  roller,  and  he  obtained  a  patent  on  his  "gin."     As  a 
result  of  these  two  patents,  there  was  much  litigation  and 
ill-feeling,  and  it  was  said  that  Whitney  was  not  treated  fair- 
ly in  the  South,  though  the  three  States  of  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina  and  Tennessee  gave  him  a  total  of  $90,000 
for  his  patent,  part  of  which  he  utilized  in  an  attempt  to  form 
a  monopoly  west  of  .the  Savannah  river,  and  the  balance  he 
used  as  a  basis  to  begin  the  manufacture  of  firearms  in  New 
Haven.     This  invention  was  the  first  great  incentive  to  the 


96  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

cotton  industry,  and  its  growth  from  that  time  was  rapid 
and  steady.  The  expansion  of  cotton  planting  naturally  in- 
creased the  demand  for  slave  labor,  and  the  increase  of  slave 
labor  increased  cotton  planting,  so  these  two  forces  in 
southern  life  were  linked  together  and  were,  in  a  sense,  de- 
pendent upon  each  other. 

In  1802,  the  Legislature  of  North  Carolina  bought  the 
patent  right  for  this  State,  agreeing  to  pay  Whitney  for  it 
by  a  special  tax  of  two  shillings  and  six  pence  on  each  saw 
used  in  a  gin  within  the  State  for  a  period  of  five  years.  The 
tax  was  collected  and  paid  to  the  inventor.  It  amounted  to 
about  thirty  thousand  dollars.  This  tax,  which  amounted  to 
an  average  of  $7,500  a  year,  indicates  that  there  were  about 
thirty  thousand  saws  in  use  at  that  time. 

In  the  settlement  of  the  taxes  for  Mecklenburg,  made  No- 
vember 30,  1802,  the  amount  of  cotton  gin  tax  was  253 
pounds  and  16  shillings,  which  shows  that  there  were  about 
two  thousand  saw^s  in  use  in  this  county.  Mecklenburg  led 
all  the  other  counties  in  the  amount  of  this  tax.  In  1803, 
the  tax  amounted  to  only  182  pounds.  In  1804,  Mecklen- 
burg paid  212  pounds,  and  Lincoln  county  w^as  second  in  the 
State  wath  56  pounds.  In  1805,  the  tax  amounted  to  213 
pounds,  and  Mecklenburg  continued  at  the  head  of  the  list  of 
cotton  producing  counties.  This  first  cotton  gin  was  a  prim- 
itive affair,  being  nothing  more  extensive  than  a  box  about 
three  feet  long,  two  feet  high,  and  two  feet  wide.  Inside 
the  box  was  the  simple  machinery  that  separated  the  seed 
from  the  lint  about  five  times  as  fast  as  it  could  be  done  by 
hand.  The  principal  feature  of  Whitney's  original  model 
was  a  wooden  cylinder  carrying  annular  rows  of  wire  spikes, 
which  was  subsequently  superseded  by  Holmes'  improve- 
ment, which  consisted  of  shaft  carrying  collars  separating 
circular  saw^s,  which  passed  through  narrow  spaces  between 
ribs.  thr(High  which  the  seed  could  not  pass. 


Authority: — State  and  County  Records,  and  Photographs 
and  fac  similes  of  Original  Patents. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

EFFECT  OF  SLAVERY  ON  INDUSTRIES. 

Occupations  of  First  Settlers  and  the  Causes — Ttiey  Made  All  They 
Used — Slavery  Induced  Them  to  Turn  Their  Entire  Attention  to 
Agriculture — Comfortable  and   Peaceable   Conditions  Prevailed. 

It  is  a  well  established  fact  that  contentment  is  not  con- 
ducive to  progress.  People  who  are  satisfied  with  their  con- 
dition in  life  have  no  desire  to  go  forward,  or  to  explore 
new  and  untried  fields  of  endeavor.  The  settlers  of  this 
county  came  here  because  of  dissatisfaction  with  conditions 
existing  where  they  had  been  living,  and  they  were,  there- 
fore, willing  to  risk  what  little  they  possessed  for  a  chance 
of  winning  more.  They  built  their  rude  homes  in  the  for- 
est, and  were  eager  to  accept  any  device  or  any  phase  of  in- 
dustry that  would  tend  tO'  economize  labor  or  to  simplify  the 
difficulties  of  their  existence. 

These  first  citizens  became  mechanics,  carpenters  and  trad- 
ers. They  built  shops  and  made  wagons.  They  tried  to  pro- 
duce everything  needed  for  themselves  and  something  else 
that  might  be  sold  for  gain.  If  they  were  favored  with 
abundant  crops,  the  surplus  was  sold  in  Charleston  and  the 
money  laid  by  or  invested  in  property  or  comforts  of  life. 
The  crops,  however,  did  not  afford  sufficient  means  for 
trade  and  industrial  expansion,  and  their  attention  was  turn- 
ed toward  occupations  requiring  skill  or  special  care.  Cattle 
raising  became  important,  and  was  developed  to  large  pro- 
portions, the  cattle  being  sold  in  Charleston  or  in  Virginia, 
and  sometimes  even  in  Philadelphia.  Weavers,  millers  and 
tailors  manufactured  goods  for  sale,  as  did  wagon  makers, 
basket  makers  and  coopers.  The  liquor  traffic  began  quite 
naturally;  poor  farmers  would  raise  a  few  bushels  of  corn 
and  distill  it  into  liquor,  which  was  easier  to  carry  to  mar- 
ket and  easier  to  sell,  and  commanded  a  better  price  than 


98  illSTORV  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

the  original  product.  Inventions  and  improvements  were 
being  made,  and  the  people  were  progressing  into  wider 
channels  of  commercial  intercourse. 

"Necessity  is  the  mother  of  invention,"  and  invention  is 
the  avenue  to  progress.  Hence,  among  the  first  settlers  the 
scarcity  of  labor  and  the  distance  irom  market  made  inven- 
tion necessary,  and  thus  made  advancement  and  expansion 
natural  and  continuous.  When  there  was  the  work  of  three 
men  for  one  man  to  do,  the  one  man  turned  his  thoughts 
to  other  and  better  modes  of  doing  the  work,  but  when  there 
were  three  men  to  do  the  work  of  one  man,  there  was  but 
little  necessity  for  thought  of  any  kind.  People  never  focus 
their  mental  powers  except  for  cause,  and  without  concen- 
tratetl  mental  application,  nothing  can  be  created;  and  we 
would  continue  forever  in  the  same  old  rut  if  we  did  not 
create  a  new  and  better  one. 

Whitney's  and  Holmes'  inventions  in  connection  with  the 
cotton  gin  had  more  lasting  effect  upon  the  life  of  our  peo- 
ple than  any  other  invention  ever  made.  There  was  a  double 
necessity  fof  the  invention;  it  greatly  reduced  the  amount  of 
labor  required,  and  did  the  work  better  than  it  could  be  done 
by  hand.  To  say  that  it  increased  cotton  production  would 
but  poorly  express  the  truth,  because,  for  all  purposes  of 
commerce,  the  invention  of  the  cotton  gin  began  the  cotton 
industry.  The  gin  reduced  the  amount  of  labor  needed  for 
the  separation  of  the  cotton  from  the  seed,  but  in  the  enor- 
mous increase  of  cotton  planting,  it  created  a  larger  demand 
than  ever  for  slave  labor.  The  farmers  realized  to  \vhat  use 
the  slaves  could  be  put,  and  the  slave  traffic  assumed  large 
proportions.  It  was  evident  that  there  would  be  a  steady 
market  for  cotton,  and  as  slaves  could  do  the  farm  work  bet- 
ter than  any  other  kind  of  work,  cotton  gradually  super- 
seded all  other  industries  until  it  was  not  only  the  leading 
one.  but  the  only  one  of  any  consequence.  The  shops  which 
had  been  productive  of  trading  were  closed  to  the  public,  and 
were  utilized  only  for  what  was  needed  on  the  plantation. 
The  plantations  generally  produced  a  little  of  everything,  but 


EFFECT  OF  SLAVERY  ON   INDUSTRIES.  99 

cotton  was  the  only  product  for  trade  and  gain.  Labor  was 
•cheap  and  plentiful  under  the  domination  of  slavery,  and 
the  controlling  element  of  white  people  ceased  to  work  for 
themselves.  The  result  was  that  there  were  no  industries  re- 
quiring skill  or  thought,  and  there  was  nO'  necessity  for  sci- 
entific farming  or  anything  else  scientific.  Nothing  was 
more  natural  than  that  the  white  population  should  be  con- 
tent with  the  situation.  Slavery  not  only  demonstrated  that 
people  will  not  think  unless  it  is  necessary,  but  also  that  they 
will  not  work  unless  it  is  necessary.  The  planters,  of  course, 
were  busy  and  had  responsibilities,  but  riding  around  and 
giving  orders  does  not  tend  to  intellectual  growth  in  the 
direction  of  material  progress. 

Within  three  decades  after  the  invention  of  the  cotton  gin, 
slaver}^  had  accomplished  its  revolution.  The  people  whose 
minds  had  been  occupied  with  diversified  industries  and  in- 
dustrial expansion  were  narrowed  down  to  the  develop- 
ment and  growth  of  cotton.  There  is  no  denying  the  fact 
that  in  this  period  the  southern  white  people  were  happy 
and  prosperous  and  contented,  but  it  was  discernible  that  at 
some  time  the  cotton  production  would  reach  its  limit,  the 
demand  would  be  supplied,  the  price  would  decrease  and  the 
backward  and  retrogressive  movement  would  begin.  The 
mills  and  shops  lay  idle,  the  abundant  natural  resources 
were  ignored,  and  everything  staked  upon  one  occupation, 
because  it  could  be  carried  on  by  slave  labor  and  the  fami- 
lies of  the  planters  could  have  all  they  needed  without  think- 
ing of  other  means  of  obtaining  wealth.  There  was  sim- 
ply no  need  for  anything  else  right  then. 

The  production  of  cotton  with  slave  labor  was  an  industry 
requiring  much  land  per  capita.  It  appears  that  the  limit 
of  population  under  this  system  was  reached  about  1830. 
The  system  of  agriculture  also  rapidly  exhausted  the  fer- 
tility of  the  soil.  These  two  conditions  conduced  to  a  con- 
stant emigration  to  the  northwest  and  southwest.  Part  of 
this  emigration  was  of  people  who  wanted  to  escape  the 
system  altogether,  and  the  other  part  was  of  people  who  went 


lOO  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

where  more  and  better  land  was  to  be  found,  which  was  nec- 
essary to  take  care  of  the  increasing  population  in  connection 
with  what  was  practically  a  single  industry — the  production 
of  cotton. 

The  attention  of  men  of  education  and  great  mental  force 
was  given  to  the  professions,  and  the  South  furnished  the 
statesmen  for  the  nation,  while  the  North  got  rich  by  the 
manufacture  of  the  raw  product  taken  from  the  South.  The 
soil,  the  climate  and  the  cheap  labor  were  all  favorable  to 
agriculture,  and  particularly  to  cotton  planting,  and  as  the 
people  could  easily  and  comfortably  live  by  this  occupation 
alone,  they  did  not  care  to  engage  in  manufacturing  or  any- 
thing similar.  All  the  work  was  done  by  slaves,  and  agricul- 
ture was  the  only  work  for  which  they  were  fitted.  The 
capital  of  the  people  consisted  of  slaves,  and  that  was  a  form 
of  capital  that  could  not  be  invested  except  in  one  depart- 
ment of  labor.  One  of  the  chief  reasons  for  the  peaceable 
prosperity  of  the  South  was  the,  freedom  from  agitators  and 
struggles  between  labor  and  capital,  caused  by  conditions 
wherein  labor  and  capital  were  one  and  the  same. 

Summarizing,  we  find  that  the  result  of  the  introduction 
and  growth  of  the  system  of  slavery  was  revolutionary;  it 
turned  the  energies  of  the  people  almost  wholly  to  the 
cultivation  of  cotton;  it  practically  destroyed  all  other  in- 
dustries; it  developed  a  landed  aristocracy;  it  gave  ample 
leisure  time  to  the  white  men  for  the  study  of  professions; 
it  unfitted  the  white  men  for  manual  labor,  and  it  ultimately 
resulted  in  the  hazardous  risk  of  making  the  entire  material 
wealth  of  a  people  dependent  upon  a  single  issue. 


Authority: — County  Records  and  Personal  Records  and 
Business  Accounts;  Newspapers  and  Statistics  of  Popula- 
tion and  Wealth. 


i 


.-<^-^.- 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

LIFE   IN  THE   OLD   SOUTH. 

A  Study  of  the  Negro — Dispositions  of  Planters  and  Systems  of  Agri- 
culture—Description of  tlie  Plantations,  the  "Big  House"  and 
the  Cabins — Treatment  of  the  Slaves — Social  Diversions. 

Discussion  of  southern  plantation  conditions  before  the 
Civil  War  must  necessarily  include  the  study  of  the  insti- 
tution of  slavery,  because  the  life  itself  v^as  dependent  upon 
the  work  of  the  slaves.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  system  of 
slave  labor,  the  noted  southern  aristocracy  would  have  been 
impossible. 

Measured  by  Anglo-Saxon  standards,  a  low  type  of  uned- 
ucated negrO'  was  one  bundle  of  contradictions.  He  could 
sleep  more  and  exist  with  less  sleep,  eat  more  and  exist  with 
less  food,  than  could  ordinary  humanity.  In  honesty  and 
dishonesty,  in  strong  affections  and  violent  passions,  in  un- 
paralleled loyalty  and  savage  disloyalty — his  mood  often 
moving  with  rapidity  from  one  extreme  to  another — he  was 
governed  by  his  immediate  surroundings  and  influences. 

It  is  totally  at  variance  with  Anglo-Saxon  character  to 
live  in  absolute  subjection  and  yet  love  the  master.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  negrO'  was  readily  submissive  and  admired 
and  loved  his  owner.  The  life  on  the  plantation  was  one  of 
absolute  mastery  on  one  side,  and  of  absolute  subjectioii  on 
the  other,  with  amicable  personal  relations  between  the  two 
and  affection  on  each  side. 

There  were  as  many  different  types  of  negroes  as  there 
are  of  whites.  Some  of  the  slaves  brought  to  America  were 
totally  savage,  while  others  enjoyed  a  considerable  degree  of 
civilization.  The  highest  type  included  those  from  the  in- 
terior of  Africa,  who  had  developed  a  partial  civilization  and 
were  seldom  enslaved ;  the  lowest  type  was  undoubtedly  the 
West  Coast  Guinea  negro,  who  was  entirely  savage,  and  the 


I02  HISTORY  OF   MKCKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

worst  kind  of  cannibal.  These  latter  in  America  were  called 
"blue  glim  niggers,"  and  the  other  negroes  believed  that  the 
bite  of  a  "blue  gum"  was  deadly  poisonous.  The  higher 
class  came  to  be  known  as  the  "Dinka"  negroes,  but  much 
the  larger  portion  caught  and  brought  to  this  country  were 
naturally  of  the  inferior  types. 

The  slaves,  when  first  brought  across  the  ocean,  were  tilled 
with  terror  at  the  new  conditions.  They  could  not  under- 
stand the  strange  language  and  the  many  wonderful  things 
about  them,  and  expected  some  such  fate  as  usually  befell 
their  tribesmen  in  Africa  when  overtaken  by  misfortune. 
The  planter,  living  on  his  plantation,  was  always  at  hand  to 
quell  disturbances.  The  influence  of  his  family  was  of  man- 
ifest importance  in  keeping  the  better  nature  of  the  negroes 
to  the  fore.  The  negroes  looked  upon  the  whites  with  awe, 
and  imitation  of  the  ways  of  the  whites  was  natural.  It  is 
easy  to  comprehend  the  great  power  the  whites  had  over  the 
characters  of  the  blacks.  A  very  generous  and  friendly  kind- 
ness has  an  immense  and  far-reaching  influence;  that  the 
kindness  was  real  and  that  it  bore  fruit  is  amply  proven  by 
the  world-astounding  loyalty  of  the  slaves  to  their  masters 
during  the  Civil  War. 

Many  people  who  were  opposed  to  slavery  have  persist- 
ently represented  the  planter  as  a  furious  fighter  or  "fire- 
eater."  Frequent  duelling  seemed  to  confirm  this  belief.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  average  planter,  while  amply  coura- 
geous, was  the  most  amiable,  friendly,  hospitable  and  unag- 
gressive of  men.  He  was  slow  to  take  or  to  give  offence, 
and  never  carried  a  pistol  or  otherwise  went  prepared  for  a 
fight.  When  he  felt  himself  offended  by  an  inferior,  he 
afflicted  an  ordinary  chastisement ;  when  his  veracity  or 
courage  was  questioned  by  an  equal,  there  was  a  well  formu- 
lated "Code  Duello"  printed  in  book  form,  in  accordance 
with  all  the  regnlations  of  which  he  must,  as  a  gentleman, 
proceed.  The  idea  that  the  planter  was  indolent,  an  indif- 
ferent business  man,  and  always  a  spendthrift,  is  totally  in 
error.    He  was  ever  on  the  alert,  was  judicial  minded,  ener- 


SPINNING   WHEEL. 


SPINNING  WHEEL. 


YARN  REEL. 


UFE  IN   THE  OLD   SOUTH.  I03 

getic,  usually  well  educated  and  always  well  trained  in  every- 
thing pertaining  to  the  management  of  a  plantation. 

The  system  of  agriculture  operated  by  the  planter  was  re- 
markably successful.  Besides  developing  the  production  of 
cotton  so  as  to  give  the  world  a  better  and  cheaper  supply 
than  ever  before,  he  at  the  same  time  produced  more  grain 
per  capita,  more  meat  per  capita  and  more  home  supplies 
than  the  people  of  any  other  part  of  the  United  States.  The 
methods  of  the  organizations  and  of  training  the  organiza- 
tions were  unsurpassed.  The  farmer  before  the  war  raised 
all  the  supplies  needed  at  home,  and  sold  his  cotton  or  tobac- 
co for  clear  gain.  The  fact  that  the  support  of  all  the 
humanity  was  produced  on  the  plantation  made  profit  cer- 
tain, and  even  with  cotton  at  4  cents  a  pound,  the  planter 
would  clear  from  8  to  10  per  cent,  on  his  investment.  The 
crop  was  generally  laid  out  on  the  basis  of  twenty-five  acres 
to  one  man  and  one  mule.  Of  this  land,  ten  acres  would  be 
put  in  cotton  and  the  remainder  in  wheat,  corn  and  oats. 
About  one-half  of  the  labor,  including  the  strongest  men, 
were  selected  for  plow  hands,  and  the  older  men,  the  strong- 
est women  and  the  youths  did  the  hoeing,  handling  of  the 
grain,  picking  the  cotton  and  all  miscellaneous  work.  The 
work  of  the  able-bodied  men  was,  of  course,  not  confined  to 
plowing;  in  season  they  did  the  blacksmithing,  cleared  land, 
made  and  repaired  farm  tools  and  ginned  the  cotton  and 
hauled  it  to  market. 

The  average  southern  plantation  contained  about  three 
thousand  acres  and  one  hundred  slaves,  and  such  a  one 
would  be  equipped  with  something  like  twenty-five  plow 
hands,  twenty-five  miscellaneous  hands,  fifty  women  and 
children,  twenty-five  mules,  four  horses  for  family  use.  six 
hundred  hogs,  .twenty-five  head  of  cattle,  one  hundred  sheep, 
ten  goats  and  fifteen  dogs,  and  chickens,  guineas,  peacocks, 
turkeys,  geese  and  ducks.  Then  there  were  the  blacksmith 
shop,  wheelwright  and  other  woodworking  shops,  twenty- 
five  negro  houses,  a  grist  and  flour  mill,  and  a  store.  Such  a 
plantation  was  worth  $100,000,  would  produce  about  100 


v/ 


104  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

bales  of  cotton  and  would  make  a  clear  profit  of  from  $10,000 
to  $20,000  a  year,  according  to  the  way  it  was  managed. 
Some  planters  were  thrifty  and  economical,  and  accumulated 
wealth  continuously;  others  employed  overseers  to  look  af- 
ter the  estate,  and  spent  the  profits  in  travel  or  in  local  ex- 
travagance. 

It  was  customary  for  the  planter  and  his  family  to  live  on 
the  plantation,  because  the  maintenance  of  the  organization 
made  their  presence  necessary.  This  afforded  abundant 
leisure  time  to  each  member  of  the  family,  and  the  planta- 
tion home  was  always  a  hospitable  place.  The  host  and  his 
family  had  ample  service,  horses,  vehicles,  plenty  of  home- 
raised  food,  excellent  cooks  and  various  amusements,  such 
as  hunting  and  fishing,  with  which  to  entertain  their  guests. 
Negroes  were  fond  of  music  and  supplied  it  whenever  called 
upon,  though  no  compulsion  was  employed  in  such  cases — 
none  was  necessary.  A  slight  suggestion  by  a  young  lady 
from  the  "big  house"  would  bring  forth  a  tender  of  services 
from  everyone  on  the  plantation  who  could  play  the  fiddle 
or  any  other  instrument.  Besides  being  fond  of  music,  the 
negroes  enjoyed  nothing  more  than  the  gayety  and  finery  of 
dances ;  on  such  occasions  they  would  stand  in  crowds  on  the 
outside  of  the  open  windows  and  enjoy  the  scene  thoroughly. 
The  publicity  of  all  plantation  life  was  good  training  for 
the  young  men,  and  accustomed  them  to  appearing  in  public 
and  contributed  to  make  them  public  speakers  and  states- 
men. 

Previous  to  about  1845,  most  of  the  negro  houses  were 
built  of  logs,  and  the  houses  of  many  planters  were  similarly 
constructed.  After  1845.  rnost  of  the  houses  for  planters 
and  for  slaves  were  frame  buildings,  those  for  the  planter 
being  usually  large  and  pretentious,  while  those  for  the 
slaves  were  the  ordinary  little  houses  with  two  or  three 
rooms.  The  log  house  was  covered  with  boards  six  inches 
w^ide  and  from  two  to  four  feet  long,  which  were  riven  or 
split  from  logs.  Frame  houses  were  covered  with  shingles. 
All  these  cabins  were  periodically  whitewashed,  and  were 


AMK  BELLUM   BEDROOM. 


LIFE   IN    THE   OED   SOUTH.  IO5 

generally  kept  fairly  clean.  All  the  slaves  had  to  work  when 
they  were  able  to  do  so,  but  at  no  other  time,  and  they  all 
knew  they  would  be  cared  for  in  old  age  and  in  sickness. 
The  old  negroes  were  much  respected,  and  each  one  would 
have  his  little  cabin,  and  perhaps  a  garden,  and  there,  with 
his  family  about  him,  would  pass  his  last  days  in  peace. 
Some  of  the  negroes  would  spend  their  evenings  and  holi- 
days in  hunting;  others  would  work  a  little  plot  of  garden 
and  produce  something  and  thus  earn  a  little  extra  money, 
which  would  be  expended  in  any  way  they  desired. 

Well  regulated  plantations  were  generally  in  the  immedi- 
ate control  of  the  owner,  but  if  he  chanced  to  be  a  profes- 
sional man,  fond  of  travel  or  otherwise  engaged  away  from 
home,  he  employed  an  overseer.  There  was  a  wagon  shop 
on  nearly  every  plantation.  Wagons  had  wooden  axles  and 
were  lubricated  with  pine  tar  made  in  a  "tar  kiln."  In  the 
smithshop  they  used  charcoal  made  in  a  "coal  kiln."  Col- 
lars for  mules  were  made  at  home  of  corn  shucks  or  poplar 
bark.  Much  cotton  and  wool  was  spun  at  home,  a  small 
cjuantity  woven,  and  wool  was  frequently  exchanged  at  a 
factory  for  cloth.  The  planter's  wife  overlooked  the  weav- 
ing and  making  of  the  clothes,  though  the  work  was  done 
by  the  negroes.  The  ladies  in  the  family  provided  the  very 
best  attention  for  the  slaves  when  sick,  and  guarded  care- 
fully against  any  unavoidable  suffering.  Nearly  all  ladies 
were  good  horseback  riders,  and  could  handle  horses  not 
only  easily,  but  so  well  as  to  make  it  a  real  pleasure. 
Churches  were  liberally  provided,  and  master  and  slave  at- 
tended services  regularly,  a  gallery  being  arranged  in  all 
churches  for  .the  negroes.  In  the  summer,  when  the  crops 
were  "laid  by,"  there  would  be  protracted  and  camp  meet- 
ings, which  would  draw  the  people  from  far  and  near. 

Plantation  amusements  were  various  and  numerous.  In 
all  of  them  the  negroes  took  interest,  and  in  some  partici- 
pated. Fox  hunting  was  very  popular.  Some  few  planters 
kept  as  many  as  twenty-five  or  thirty  fox  hounds.  It  was 
not  uncommon  for  ladies  to  take  part  in  the  chase.    Almost 


I06  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

every  planter  kept  a  few  pointer  or  setter  dogs,  and  hunted 
partridges.  Besides  these  dogs  kept  by  the  planter  himself, 
his  sons  and  the  negroes  had  a  miscellaneous  collection  of 
rabbit  dogs,  coon  dogs  and  "possum"  dogs.  Fishing  was 
common  and  popular.  Horse  racing,  chicken  fighting, 
wrestling  and  boxing  were  all  popular  and  were  conducted 
with  decorum.  Betting  was  not  common,  but  sometimes  it 
would  be  carried  to  the  extreme  by  some  event  of  unusual 
interest.  House  parties,  dances  and  picnics  were  frequent 
among  the  young  white  people,  while  the  older  ones  indulged 
in  barbecues  with  political  speaking  or  impromptu  speeches 
of  any  kind.  The  white  boys  and  the  negroes  hunted  rab- 
bits in  day  time  and  coons  and  opossums  at  night. 

Much  of  the  work  was  turned  into  frolics.  Negroes  from 
different  plantations  would  be  gathered  together  at  "corn 
shuckings,"  where  they  would  be  divided  into  two  parties, 
each  with  a  huge  pile  of  corn,  and  with  singing  and  laughter 
would  have  an  exciting  contest.  Plentv  to  drink  and  eat 
was  supplied,  and  the  white  people  would  stand  around  and 
witness  the  fun.  Similar  combinations  were  effected  for 
clearing  land,  house  raisings  and  log  rollings,  while  the 
ladies  had  their  quilting  parties  and  other  pleasant  gather- 
ings. 


_^^ 


U 


Authority: — "The  Old  Plantation."  by  James  Qof^rm 
Avirett;  Newspapers,  and  the  Recollections  and  Personal 
Investigations  of  the  Author. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

CHURCHES  BEFORE  THE  CIVIL  WAR. 

Growth  of  the  Congregations  in  the  County  and  the  Building  of  the 
First  Churches  in  Charlotte— Something  of  the  Most  Noted  Min- 
isters and  Their  Great  Influence— Revivals  and  Various  Reli- 
gious Incidents. 

Charlotte,  in  1815,  set  apart  a  lot  on  Trade  and 
Church  streets  to  be  used  for  religious  purposes  and  for  a 
cemetery.  The  people  of  the  town  combined  and  erected  a 
comfortable  building,  which  was  for  many  years  used  by 
preachers  of  all  denominations.  There  had  been  considera- 
ble"bitter  feeling  in  the  county  between  the  members  of  the 
various  religious  organizations,  and  this  union  house  of 
worship  in  Charlotte  began  a  charitable  friendliness  among 
the  local  churches  which  has  never  ceased. 

In  1 82 1,  the  Charlotte  members  of  the  Sugar  Creek  Pres- 
byterian church  petitioned  to  be  formed  into  a  separate  con- 
gregation. Rev.  S.  C.  Caldwell,  the  pastor  at  Sugar  creek, 
had  been  preaching  in  Charlotte  once  a  month  since  1805, 
and  continued  to  do  so  until  his  death  in  the  Fall  of  1826. 
June  8,  1827,  Rev.  R.  H.  Morrison  was  installed  as  pastor 
of  the  congregations  of  Charlotte  and  Sugar  creek,  and  he 
served  these  churches  until  April  3.  1833.  when  his  pastoral 
relation  with  "the  church  of  Charlotte"  was  dissolved. 

The  Presbyterians  secured  control  of  the  town  church  in 
1832,  and  in  the  following  year,  erected  a  better  building. 
On  the  fourth  Sunday  in  August,  1833,  the  new  church  was 
occupied  and  "David  Parks  and  Nathan  B.  Carroll  were  ap- 
pointed elders."  Soon  after  this,  a  revival  was  conducted 
by  Revs.  Morrison  and  Leaven\vorth,  assisted  by  Revs.  Fur- 
man  and  Barnes,  of  the  Baptists.  As  a  result  of  the  meet- 
ings, thirty-six  new  members  were  received  into  the  church. 
Rev.  A.  J.  Leavenworth  was  pastor  from  1834  until  March 


I08  HISTORY  or   MECKLHNBLRG  COUNTY. 

12.  1839.  Revs.  Thomas  Owen,  John  M.  M.  Culpepper  and 
Harper  Caldwell  served  from  1839  to  1842;  Rev.  J.  F.  W. 
Freeman  from  1842  to  1846;  Rev.  Cyrus  Johnston  from 
1846  to  1855;  Kev.  A.  W.  Miller  from  1855  to  1857;  Rev. 
Alexander  Sinclair  from  1857  to  1865.  William  Carson, 
who  died  November  22,  1846,  bequeathed  $1,000  to  the 
Presbyterian  church  and  $5,000  and  his  library  to  Davidson 
College. 

January  7,  1833,  an  auxiliary  of  the  American  Tract  Soci- 
ety was  formed  in  Charlotte.  Isaac  Alexander  was  chair- 
man. Rev.  A.  J.  Leavenworth  secretary,  and  David  Parks 
treasurer.  The  purpose  of  the  society  was  to  circulate  tracts 
and  other  printed  matter  for  the  stimulation  of  religious  in- 
terest. January  7,  1834,  a  Sunday  School  Union  was 
formed  in  the  town,  and  $100  raised  to  promote  the  work. 

Rev.  David  J.  Allen,  a  Methodist,  was  stationed  in  Char- 
lotte in  February,  1834,  succeeding  Rev.  J.  J.  Allison.  The 
Methodist  congregation  had  been  organized  since  181 5, 
and  the  town  church,  which  has  since  become  Tryon  Street 
Methodist  Episcopal  church,  grew  from  .the  original  congre- 
gation at  Buck's  Hill,  seven  miles  northwest  of  Charlotte,  on 
the  Beatty's  Ford  road.  Their  first  church  was  erected  on 
Seventh  street  in  1834,  and  it  served  until  the  present  site 
was  occupied  in  1859.  D.  R.  Dunlap  and  Brawlcy  Oates 
were  the  leaders  in  the  organization  of  the  congregation  in 
1815.  This  church  was  one  of  a  circuit  until  1833,  when  it 
was  made  a  station.  The  Harrison  Methodist  church,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county,  was  established  in  1785.  An- 
other, of  which  Andrew  Moore  was  founder,  was  built  at 
"Bethesda,"'  in  the  western  part  of  the  county,  about 
1 810.  In  June,  1853,  there  was  a  Methodist  revival  and 
quarterly  conference  in  Charlotte,  which  was  attended  by 
Presiding  Elder  Durant.  Evangelist  Baker,  of  Texas,  and 
Rev.  Mr.  Jenkins,  who  had  been  a  missionary  in  China.  The 
missionary  had  with  him  a  Chinaman  and  some  Chinese 
images  which  excited  much  comment.  Great  interest  was 
manifested  in  the  meeting,  a  large  amount  was  raised  for 


CHURCHES  BEFORE  THE  CIVIE  WAR.  IO9 

foreign  missions,  and  fifty  persons  were  converted.  In 
April,  1858,  another  revival,  lasting  three  weeks,  added 
forty-five  members. 

Rev.  Mr.  Barnes,  of  the  Baptist  denomination,  was 
preaching  in  Charlotte  in  1833.  During  that  year  and  the 
next,  he  and  Revs.  John  Culpepper  and  Wait  preached  oc- 
casionally in  the  county  court  house.  In  1839,  the  church 
was  erected  on  Fourth  street,  but  it  was  sold  a  few  years 
later  and  a  better  one  was  built  at  the  corner  of  Seventh  and 
Brevard  streets.     y\ 

Rev.  G.  D.  Berl^heim  was  in  Charlotte  in  the  early  part 
of  1859,  to  organize  a  Lutheran  church.  The  building  was 
erected  in  March,  and  Revs.  Bittle  and  Berkheim  were  the 
preachers  for  the  congregation.  The  Episcopal  church  was 
organized  in  1845,  ^^^  ^  ^^^  church  occupied  June  22, 
1858.  Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  of  Salisbury,  served  the  church 
until  a  regular  pastor  was  secured. 

Rev.  Joseph  Stokes,  in  1824,  was  the  first  Catholic  priest 
to  visit  this  section.  Rev.  John  Maginnis  succeeded  him  in 
Charlotte  in  1827.  He  taught  school  at  his  hoiise  and 
preached,  and  gradually  drew  around  him  a  Catholic  congre- 
gation. Rev.  J.  J.  O'Connell  was  appointed  to  the  mission 
in  1 85 1,  and  in  the  same  year  built  the  first  Catholic  church 
in  Charlotte. 

The  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterians  did  not  have  a 
church  in  Charlotte  before  i860,  though  several  of  that  be- 
lief resided  in  town.  In  the  county,  however,  they  were 
second  only  to  the  Presbyterians  in  getting  started.  Gilead 
church  was  formed  in  1788,  and  Little  Steele  creek  in  1795, 
and  there  were  also  Associate  Reformed  Presbyterian 
churches  at  Coddle  creek,  Prosperity,  Hopewell  and  Sardis. 
Among  the  able  men  who  served  these  churches  were  Revs. 
James  McKnight,  John  Boyce,  Alexander  Ranson  and  John 
Hunter. 

From  1800  to  i860,  the  noted  seven  Presbyterian 
churches  of  Mecklenburg  were  all  prospering,  and  new  ones 
were  being  formed  in  the  county,  principally  by  members 


no  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  CX)UNTY. 

of  these  old  churches.  Pleasant  Hill  church  was  formed 
by  members  of  Steele  creek  in  1836,  and  began  with  forty- 
two  members.  In  the  latter  part  of  May,  1858,  there  was  a 
revival  at  Hopewell,  conducted  by  Rev.  S.  C.  Pharr,  the 
pastor,  who  was  assisted  by  Rev.  R.  H.  Morrison,  As  a 
result  of  the  meeting,  fifty  members  were  taken  into  the  fold. 
In  1 83 1,  Sharon  church  was  formed  by  the  members  of 
Providence  who  lived  north  of  McAlpin's  creek. 

Camp  meetings  and  revivals  were  annual  events  of  im- 
portance. There  was  in  every  section  a  camp  meeting 
ground  with  a  large  arbor  for  preaching,  and  little  cabins  for 
the  accommodation  of  the  people.  Many  of  the  people 
would  carry  tents  with  them,  and  they  would  remain  for 
weeks  at  a  time.  The  best  preachers  were  obtained  for  such 
occasions,  and  sometimes  the  excitement  was  intense  and 
large  numbers  were  converted. 

The  ministers  w-ere  generally  well  equipped  with  this 
world's  goods.  In  1819,  Rev.  John  Williamson  owned  504 
acres  of  land,  and  his  property  was  valued  at  $2,312.  Rev. 
S.  C.  Caldwell  owned  property  amounting  to  $2,702;  Rev. 
Humphrey  Hunter  was  worth  $1,500;  Rev.  James  Wallis 
$3,526,  and  Rev.  Isaac  Grier  $1,200.  They  each  owned 
several  slaves  and  large  tracts  of  land.  Rev.  S.  C.  Caldwell 
had  904  acres  of  land  and  eight  slaves. 


Authority : — Newspapers     and     Church     Records     and 
Sketches. 


Chai^tle  Male  andl  Female  Academy. 


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\a  p«?  \u  «ie  TrustMO,  \n  Ihc  tuVU.yclnK  lnM»\mint»,  Til/  Uiirfonrlh 
on  Ibt  \rt  uf  DvrtiubcT  luxl,  ttm\  \\\l-  \>n\imrt  \ii  »w<i  «i\n\v(i\  va^oXTOU, 
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iM^   Mritne«»  oitV  buiiAs,  ttxU  28lb  itt-j  uf  Vebraar;,  IH'2^ 

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SUBSCRIPTIONS   TO   CHARLOTTE  ACADEMY,   1823. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

EDUCATION   BEFORE   1860. 

First  Chartered  Schools — County  Academies — Ministers  Conducted 
Excellent  Schools — Beginning  of  the  Public  System — Military 
Institute — Male  and  Female  Institutes — Davidson  College. 

There  was  little  difference  in  the  general  aspect  of  Meck- 
lenburg county  schools  before  1800  and  between  that  time 
and  i860.  At  the  principal  churches  in  the  county,  excellent 
schools  were  maintained  by  the  ministers,  nearly  all  of  whom 
were  accomplished  scholars.  A  number  of  these  schools 
were  chartered  and  had  a  regular  course  of  instruction. 
Previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  public  school  system,  about 
1840,  there  were  numerous  teachers  other  than  the  minis- 
ters, who  were  regularly  engaged  in  school  work,  and  from 
1840  the  ministers  were  gradually  supplanted  in  the  work 
by  men  who  could  give  their  entire  time  to  it. 

Rocky  River  Academy  was  incorporated  in  181 2,  and  New 
Providence  Academy  was  chartered  in  1811,  at  which  time 
James  Wallis  was  principal.  A  high  grade  school  was  main- 
tained there  for  many  years.  In  1852,  there  were  two 
schools  in  the  neighborhood.  Miss  H.  G.  Graham  was  con- 
ducting Providence  Whitehall  Academy,  and  Miss  Sarah  J. 
Parks  was  principal  of  Providence  Female  Academy.     In 

1853,  W.  B.  Pressly  taught  at  Sugar  creek,  and  two  years 
later  the  school  was  under  the  direction  of  John  B.  Parkey. 
T.  M.  Kirkpatrick,  who  had  taught  at  Davidson,  began 
Sharon  Female  Academy,  seven  miles  from  Charlotte,  in 
February.  1849.  He  continued  in  charge  of  it  until  his 
death  in  1855,  being  succeeded  by  Miss  Eliza  Parker.     In 

1854,  Rev.  R.  F.  Taylor  began  a  classical  school  at  Rock 
creek,  and  in  1855,  Miss  Susan  Rudisill  was  teaching  a 
school  for  girls  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Margaret  Grier,  in 
the  Paw  creek  section. 


112  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

S.  W.  Irwin  was  at  the  head  of  a  classical  school  at  Mal- 
lard creek  church  in  1834,  and  in  the  same  year,  Rev.  Joim 
Maginnis  was  teaching  a  preparatory  school  on  Tryon 
street,  in  Charlotte.  J.  C.  Denny,  who  had  taught  two  ses- 
sions in  Charlotte,  was  at  Steele  creek  in  1853.  Robert  G. 
Allison  began  the  third  session  of  the  Charlotte  English 
and  Classical  School  in  October,  1855.  Rev.  J.  M.  Cald- 
well and  his  wife  taught  at  Sugar  creek  for  several  years  be- 
fore 1845.  T'hen  Misses  Gould  and  Chamberlain  conducted 
Claremont  Academy,  near  the  Sugar  creek  church,  for 
several  sessions,  and  in  1852,  Miss  Mary  Ann  Frew  was 
teaching  there.  About  that  time,  a  daughter  of  J.  R.  Alex- 
ander was  teaching  a  girls'  school  at  her  father's  residence, 
half  way  between  Charlotte  and  Davidson  College.  S.  D. 
Wharton,  of  Alexandriana,  was  teaching  at  Hopewell  in 
July,  1850,  and  in  1853  Mt.  Carmel  Academy  was  taught 
by  Miss  Brandon.  Good  schools  were  also  conducted  at 
Harrisburg  and  Cedar  Grove. 

Some  of  the  teachers  and  many  of  the  ministers,  about  the 
middle  of  the  century,  were  highly  educated.  In  June,  1847. 
Prof.  Pliny  Miles  lectured  in  the  Female  Academy  on  the  art 
of  improving  the  memory.  November  16,  1848,  Rev.  J.  W. 
F.  Freeman  delivered  an  astronomical  lecture  in  the  Pres- 
byterian church  "preparatory  to  forming  a  night  class  for 
the  study  of  astronomy  by  aid  of  Mathison's  splendid  dia- 
grams." In  1853.  Prof.  R.  H.  A.  Koch  was  teaching  music 
in  Charlotte,  and  in  the  following  year  Adolphus  Evvette,  a 
Frenchman,  was  giving  special  instruction  to  ladies  in  the 
"new^  system  of  drawing.''  There  was  usually  a  dancing 
school,  and  sometimes  as  many  as  three  or  four.  Septemljer 
17,  1839,  Mr.  A.  G.  Powers  was  teaching  writing  and  short- 
hand in  the  town. 
^  In  1837,  North  Carolina  received  $1,500,000  from  the 
/  United  States  as  her  share  of  the  funds  which  had  accu- 
v,  mulated  from  the  sale  of  public  lands.  This  amount,  with 
some  other  then  on  hand,  was  used  as  a  public  school  fund, 
and  a  literary  board  was  organized  consisting  of  the  Gov- 


EDUCATION   BEFORE    1860.  II3 

ernor  and  three  others  by  him  appointed.  In  1839,  the 
counties  were  divided  into  school  districts,  six  miles  square, 
and  each  county  voted  whether  or  not  to  have  public  schools, 
all  but  one  voting  in  favor  of  it.  Mecklenburg's  vote  was 
950  for  and  578  against,  and  in  Charlotte  it  was  314  to  51. 
TlTe  county  school  tax  assessed  was  six  cents  on  the  poll 
and  three  cents  on  the  $100  valuation  of  property.  The 
county  schools  were  under  the  control  of  a  board  of  seven 
superintendents,  and  each  school  had  three  committeemen. 
The  income  from  the  State  fund  was  supplemented  by  a 
tax  levied  by  the  county  courts,  and  the  court  was  authorized 
to  levy,  on  any  district  having  as  many  as  fifty  school  chil- 
dren, a  tax  sufficient  to  build  a  school  house. 

Rather  than  pay  the  tax,  the  people  preferred  to  build  the 
houses,  so  rough  log  buildings  were  erected,  though  there 
were  a  few  neat  frame  structures  in  the  county..  Where 
there  had  not  previously  been  a  school,  new  teachers  were 
employed,  and  as  they  could  only  be  employed  for  a  part  of 
each  year  at  a  meagre  salary,  they  were  not  of  the  highest 
order.  In  other  places,  however,  the  public  schools  were 
combined  with  the  old  schools.  In  1849,  tb^  public  money 
in  district  No.  50  was  paid  to  Alexandriana  Academy  and 
used  wholly  for  the  poor  people.  Mrs.  E.  Wilson,  the 
teacher,  kept  account  of  the  number  of  days  attended  by 
children  whose  parents  were  unable  to  pay  tuition,  and  this 
was  charged  to  the  public  fund.  Mecklenburg's  portion  of 
the  prbblic  money,  together  with  the  county  tax,  amounted  to 
$2,149  i'^  1849?  and  to  $3,449  in  1850,  in  which  year.it  was 
the  second  largest  county  fund  in  the  State.  In  1841,  there 
were  seventy-seven  school  districts  in  Mecklenburg.  The 
salaries  of  teachers  ranged  from  fifteen  dollars  to  thirty  dol- 
lars a  month,  and  the  books  used  included  Webster's  speller, 
North  Carolina  reader,  Davie's  arithmetic  and  Smith's 
grammar. 

January  8,  1838.  the  Charlotte  Male  Academy  opened, 
in  charge  of  Rev.  A.  J.  Leavenworth,  and  about  forty  stu- 
dents were  enrolled.     Mr.   Leavenworth  was   followed  by 


114  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

Thomas  A.  Avery,  and  he  by  Robert  G.  Allison.  Mr.  T.  C. 
Pomeroy,  of  New  York,  was  the  next  principal. 

October  9,  1848,  Rev.  J.  W.  F.  Freeman  was  in  charge 
of  the  Academy.  He  was  followed  the  next  year  by  Prof. 
J.  W.  Harrington,  a  graduate  of  Columbia  College,  of  New 
York,  who  held  the  position  until  1851.  During  that  time 
the  trustees  of  the  institution  were  D.  R.  Dunlap,  Leroy 
Springs  and  J.  D.  Boyd.  Prof.  W.  D.  Johnston  conducted 
the  school  from  1854.10  1858. 

July  26,  1858,  the  corner  stone  of  the  Charlotte  Military 
Academy  was  laid  with  impressive  ceremonies,  participated 
in  by  the  Masonic  fraternity  in  a  body.  V.  C.  Barringer  and 
Ex-Governor  Graham  were  the  orators,  and  a  large  crowd 
was  present.  The  building  was  erected  in  the  southern  part 
of  the  city,  and  is  now  used  by  the  graded  school.  It  was 
completed  in  1859,  and  in  the  fall  of  that  year  the  school 
was  opened  by  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill,  Gen.  Jas.  H.  Lane  and  Col. 
C.  C.  Lee.  R.  M.  McKinney,  C.  P.  Estill,  Marshall  and 
Bynum  were  also  teachers  before  the  war. 

An  advertisement  of  the  Charlotte  Female  Academy,  in 
1832,  stated  that  the  course  of  instruction  included  the  com- 
mon and  higher  studies,  drawing,  painting,  music,  Latin, 
Greek,  French  and  Italian.  Mrs.  S.  D.  Nye  Hutchison 
was  in  charge  of  the  school  from  1836  to  1839,  ^'"'d  Miss 
Sarah  Davidson  was  music  teacher.  Rev.  A.  J.  Leavenworth 
was  principal  in  1840,  and  Rev.  Cyrus  Johnston  from  1846 
to  1853.  August  15,  1849,  the  school  opened  with  Rev. 
Johnston,  Miss  Mary  Dayton  and  Miss  Josephine  C.  Kerr 
as  teachers.  The  building  was  burned  March  26,  1851,  and 
no  effort  was  made  to  rebuild  until  two  years  later.  Then 
bids  were  received  for  erecting  a  brick  building  three  stories 
high  and  92  bv  53  feet  in  size.     The  work  was  completed  in 

1859- 

The  Charlotte  Female  Institute  was  organized  and  opened 
during  the  fall  of  1857,  with  Rev.  Robert  Burwell  and  his 
wife,  who  had  been  conducting  a  school  in  Hillsboro,  in 
charge.     A  good  building  was  provided  by  the  people  of 


EDUCATION  BEFORE  1860.  Il5 

Charlotte,  and  the  institution  was  successful.  In  1859,  the 
building  was  enlarged  and  completed,  and  the  faculty  in- 
creased by  bringing  in  J.  B.  Burwell,  a  son  of  the  principal, 
graduate  of  Hampden-Sidney  College,  and  a  teacher  of  ex- 
perience. Mrs.  J.  A.  Crittenden  was  teaching  a  school  for 
girls  in  Charlotte  in  1838  and  1839.  There  had  been  for  a 
long  time  a  school  in  Charlotte  at  intervals,  known  as  the 
Female  Institute.  In  183S,  it  was  being  conducted  by  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Gustavus  Spencer,  who  were  considered  excellent 
teachers. 

After  the  close  of  Liberty  Hall,  the  people  of  Mecklen- 
burg did  not  give  up  .their  hope  of  having  an  institution  of 
higher  learning  in  the  county.   The  subject  was  much  talked 
about,  and  at  a  convention  held  at  Lincolnton  in  September, 
1820,  and  attended  by  North  Carolina  and  South  Carolina 
Presbyterians,  the  first  definite  move  was  made.     A  board 
of  trustees  was  selected,  and  later  in  the  year  a  charter  was 
obtained  for  Western  College.     The  reason  for  the  pro- 
posed school  was  "that  the  more  western  counties  in  the 
State  are  distant  from  Chapel  Hill,  which  renders  it  incon- 
venient  for  their  youth  to  prosecute  their  education  there." 
Friends  of  the  University  opposed  the  new  school,  and  the 
trustees  being  unable  to  agree  as  to  the  location,  and  not 
having  much  encouragement,  abandoned  the  project  in  1824. 
Resolutions  tending  to  the  establishment  of  a  Presbyte- 
rian college  were  adopted  by  the  Concord  Presbytery,  at 
Prospect  church,  in  the  Spring  of  1835.     The  object  of  the 
movement  was  for  the  promotion  of  liberal  learning  "pre- 
paratory to  the  Gospel  ministry."    The  committee  appointed 
to  carry  out  the  plans  included  Revs.  R.  H.  Morrison,  John 
Robinson,  Stephen  Frontis,  Samuel  Williamson,  and  Rob- 
ert Burton,  William  Lee  Davidson,  John  Phifer  and  Joseph 
Young.     In  the  summer  of  1836,  William  Lee  Davidson 
donated  a  large  tract  of  land  for  the  building  site,  and  prep- 
arations were  made  to  begin  the  work.     Subscriptions  to  the 
amount  of  $30,000  had  been  secured  by  Revs.  Morrison  and 
P.  J.  Sparrow.     The  institution  was  nam.ed  Davidson  Col- 


Il6  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

lege,  in  honor  of  General  William  Davidson,  who  was  killed 
at  Cowan's  Ford,  about  seven  miles  from  the  present  site, 
February  i,  1781.  The  college  was  opened  in  March,  1S37, 
with  66  students  and  the  following  faculty:  Rev.  R.  H. 
Morrison,  president,  Rev.  P.  J.  Sparrow  and  M.  D.  John- 
ston. The  Legislature  granted  the  charter  December  28, 
1838.  The  manual  labor  feature  was  introduced,  but  proved 
unsuccessful  and  was  dispensed  with  after  four  years'  trial. 
In  1855,  Davidson  College  was  placed  on  a  strong  financial 
basis  by  the  bequest  of  Maxwell  Chambers,  of  Salisbury, 
which  amounted  to  $258,000.  The  institution  was  prosper- 
ous until  the  beginning  of  the  Civil  War.  In  1840,  Dr.  Mor- 
rison was  succeeded  as  president  by  Rev,  Samuel  William- 
son, who  served  in  that  capacity  until  1854,  and  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Dr.  Drury  Lane,  who  continued  in  office  until 
i860.  It  was  for  a  long  time  customary  for  the  college  to 
hold  public  examinations  semi-annually,  at  which  the  exer- 
cises consisted  of  "speaking,  both  selected  and  original  com- 
position and  a  debate." 


Authority : — Records  of  the  Schools,  Official  Information 
and  Newspapers. 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 

GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  FROM  1825  TO  1860. 

Population,  Wealth  and  Taxes — Trades  and  Improvements — Laws 
and  Courts — Newspapers — Mecklenburg's  Part  in  the  Mexican 
War — Smallpox — Fairs  and  Public  Exhibitions — The  Census  of 
1840. 

Ill  the  first  part  of  the  nineteenth  century,  the  country 
was  scantily  settled,  roads  were  bad,  modes  of  travel  were 
tedious,  and  consequently  the  census  taking  could  not  be 
thorough.  Emigration  movements  often  assumed  vast  pro- 
portions and  the  variability  of  the  slave  population  would 
sometimes  make  the  total  number  of  inhabitants  at  one  cen- 
sus much  smaller  than  at  a  preceding  one.  Some  years  nearly 
all  the  property  was  listed  and  at  others  only  a  portion  of  it. 
In  1842,  Union  county  was  made  from  portions  of  Meck- 
lenburg and  Anson. 

In  1820,  the  population  of  Mecklenburg  was  16,895;  in 
1830,  it  was  20,073;  in  1840,  18,273;  1850,  13,814,  and  in 
i860,  17,374.  The  population  in  1825  was  about  the  same 
as  it  was  in  i860.  From  1835  until  1850  there  was  a  great 
emigration  to  the  West.  In  1825,  the  population  of  Char- 
lotte was  700,  and  in  i860,  it  was  1,336.  The 
census  of  1830  disclosed  the  facts  that  there  were  in  the 
county  sixty-one  unnaturalized  foreigners,  one  white  man 
105  years  old,  one  white  woman  loi  years  old,  and  three 
negroes  100  years  old. 

Charlotte  did  a  considerable  merchandise  business  during 
this  period.  In  1832,  the  merchants'  tax  amounted  to  $220 
and  the  peddlers'  tax  to  $250.  The  tax  on  each  peddler  was 
$10.00,  so  there  must  have  been  twenty-five  men  regularly 
engaged  in  that  work.  They  traveled  into  all  portions  of  the 
country,  and  did  a  good  business  with  the  people  who  lived 
a  long-  distance  from  town.     Stores  were  in  all  parts  of 


Il8  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY, 

the  county,  but  they  were  suppHed  only  with  the  necessi- 
ties of  life;  for  anything  else  it  was  necessary  to  come  to 
Charlotte.  There  were  a  number  of  grist  and  flour  mills  in 
the  county,  and  a  few  saw  mills  which  did  work  for  the  pub- 
lic. The  merchants  knew  how  to  advertise,  and  stores  as 
early  as  1840  were  selling  their  "entire  stock  of  goods  below 
cost."  There  were  usually  two  or  three  milliners  in  the 
town,  and  they  advertised  the  latest  fashions  and  best  work. 
The  newspapers  in  1833  announced  that  "the  balloon  sleeves 
are  going  out  of  fashion,"  and  a  hope  was  expressed  that 
the  same  fate  would  befall  the  "ladies'  big  hats,  some  of 
which  are  two  or  three  feet  broad." 

The  Mansion  House  was  the  chief  hostelry  in  town  in 
1840,  and  it  and  the  Charlotte  Hotel  were  popular  in  i860. 
Taverns  and  saloons  were  noted  places  for  men  to  assemble 
for  public  discussions  of  all  kinds.  Licenses  were  granted 
to  whiskey  dealers,  and  the  traffic  became  so  common  that  in 
1833,  an  organization  of  the  "Sons  of  Temperance"  was  ef- 
fected. The  campaign  occasioned  some  excitement  and 
served  to  retard  the  growth  of  the  liquor  business,  but  had 
little  other  effect.  A  saloon  keeper  advertised  that  he  had 
just  received  a  fine  consignment  of  liquors  and  one  "special 
preparation  for  the  members  of  a  certain  society  in  this 
town,"  and  the  liquor  men  said  that  the  doctors  were  push- 
ing the  temperance  movement  so  they  could  get  to  sell  all 
the  liquor.  In  1842,  the  Washington  Temperance  Society 
of  Mecklenburg  County  was  organized  with  145  members. 
In  1853,  Burton  Craige  was  elected  to  Congress  over  James 
W.  Osborne,  and  the  charge  was  made  during  the  campaign 
that  Osborne  was  a  "Son  of  Temperance,"  but  it  was  not 
proved.  The  local  election  in  the  same  year  was  also  fought 
on  the  liquor  question,  and  the  "dry"  candidate  was  over- 
whelmingly defeated. 

The  county  tax  in  1826,  was  thirty  cents  on  the  poll  and 
ten  cents  on  each  $100  worth  of  property,  but  in  1836,  it 
was  reduced  to  twenty-five  cents  and  eight  cents  respectively. 
In  addition,  there  was  a  "poor"  tax  ranging  from  fifteen  to 


GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMKNT  FROM   1825  TO  1860.       1 19 

twentv-hve  cents  on  the  poll,  and  from  five  to  ten  cents  on 
each  $100  valuation.     In  May,  1828,  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  build  a  poor  house,  and  the  work  was  completed 
in  January,  1833,  and  a  man  and  his  wife  employed  to  take 
charge  of  it.     In   1829,  the  old  court  house,  which  was 
erected  in  1810,  was  thoroughly  overhauled  and  repaired, 
and  in  1845,  a  new  building  was  erected  on  West  Trade 
street.    June  i,  1849,  J-  B.  Kerr,  the  town  treasurer,  adver- 
tised for  sealed  bids  for  repairing  the  "horse  racks  and  the 
streets  in  Charlotte."    The  first  fire  engine  was  purchased  m 
1830  $100  being  paid  for  it.     A  regular  fire  company  was 
kept  up,  but  was  very  ineffective.     In  1858,  gas  lamps  were 
purchased  for  the  streets  and  public  buildings,  at  a  cost  of 
$1  015  40.     In  1803,  William  Davidson  and  William  Alli- 
son had  charge  of  the  Charlotte  division  of  the  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company.     In  1855,  the  Charlotte  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company  was  organized  with  R.  C.  Cowan  pres- 
ident, John  Irwin  vice  president,  J.  F.  Irwin  secretary  and 
treasurer,  William  Johnston  attorney,  and  W.  L.  Winston 

agent.  , 

Whipping  posts  and  stocks  remained  m  use  until  atter  the 
war.     The  laws  were  rigidly  enforced,  and  whipping  and 
branding  were  the  usual  modes  of  punishment  for  minor 
offenses.     Courts  were  always  kept  busy  while  in  session, 
and  a  number  of  lawyers  lived  in  the  county.    Among  them 
were  J.  C.  Spears,  F.  L.  Smith,  James  H.  Wilson,  S.  J. 
Lowrie,  James  W.  Osborne,  V.  C.  Barringer,  A.  F.  Bre- 
vard, F.  H.  McDowell,  W.  J.  Keahey  andWilham  Johnston. 
In  1835,  Rev.  Isaac  Grier  was  elected  delegate  from  Meck- 
lenburg'to  the  constitutional  convention  over  William  Lee 
Davidson,  the  issue  being  Davidson's  announced  intention 
to  propose  an  amendment  allowing  Catholics  to  hold  office. 
In  1834,  a  town  ordinance  was  in  effect  making  it  a  misde- 
meanor,'punishable  by  a  $5.00  fine,  to  leave  wood  boxes  on 
the  street,  to  dig  sand  or  dirt  from  the  street  or  to  keep  more 
than  one  dog.     The  first  election  of  town  officers  by  the 
people  was  held  January  17,  1852,  when  A.  Graham  was 


I20  HISTORY  OF   MECKUCNBURG  COUNTY. 

elected  intendant,  and  six  ])r()niinent  citizens  were  elected 
councilmen.  Previous  to  this  time,  the  mayor  had  been 
elected  by  the  aldermen. 

The  dispensation  of  justice  was  vested  in  the  county  mag- 
istrates;  a  county  court  presided  over  by  three  magistrates, 
and  which  met  quarterly ;  and  a  Superior  Court  of  law  and 
equity,  which  met  twice  a  year. 

In  the  year  1858,  there  was  snow  on  the  26th  da\-  of 
April.  Snow  fell  in  Atlanta  thirteen  days  before,  and  on 
the  15th  there  was  a  frost  in  Mecklenburg.  The  weather 
was  extremely  cold  for  some  time,  lires  being  necessary  f(jr 
comfort  until  the  end  of  May.  April  15,  1849,  there  had 
been  a  similar  snow  and  cold  spell,  the  snow  being  several 
inches  deep  and  all  the  fruit  being  killed,  and  in  the  Spring 
of  1840,  all  the  fruit  was  killed  by  a  cold  spell.  In  the  Fall 
of  1858,  three  comets  were  reported  as  being  visible,  and 
were  objects  of  much  interest  to  Charlotte  people. 

Mecklenburg's  first  newspaper  was  Holton's  North  Car- 
olina IVhig,  which  was  established  in  1824.  The  name  was 
•changed  to  the  Journal  in  March.  1832.  and  back  to  Whig 
January  26,  1852.  Holton  remained  in  charge  of  it,  and 
from  1852  until  1855,  A.  C.  Williamson  was  connected  with 
it.  June  28,  1834,  it  appeared  in  mourning  with  black  ruled 
columns  on  account  of  the  death  of  Lafayette.  D.  Asbury 
was  one  of  the  editors  in  1841. 

January  13,  1848,  James  Fulton  succeeded  J.  W.  Hamp- 
ton as  editor  of  the  Jeifcrsonian,  and  in  the  next  year  left  to 
take  charge  of  the  Wilmington  Joiirna!.  Samuel  C.  Craw- 
ford edited  the  Jeffcrsonian  in  1844.  In  1848,  J.  L.  IJadger 
was  connected  with  the  Journal,  and  a  year  later  was  pub- 
lishing the  Hornets'  Nest.  The  Hornets'  Nest  and  th^  Jour- 
nal \vere  the  only  papers  published  in  Charlotte  in  1850.  July 
10,  1852,  the  Western  Democrat  appeared,  edited  by  R.  P. 
Waring,  and  in  1855,  Dr.  H.  M.  Pritchard  was  editor.  In 
1854.  the  Whig,  Democrat  and  W'ilmington  Journal  en- 
gaged in  a  discussion  relative  to  the  Independence  Monu- 
ment Association,  which  was  organized  in  Charlotte  several 


GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  FROM   1825  TO  1860.       121 

years  previous,  and  the  Charlotte  papers  said  it  had  been 
abandoned  because  some  people  persisted  that  the  name  of  a 
certain  Tory  should  be  put  on  it.  ]\Iay  17,  1859,  the  Daily 
Bullet  ill  began  publication  under  the  management  of  E.  H. 
Britton  &  Co. 

Alay  17,  1848,  Raymond  &  Waring' s  great  zoological 
exhibition  appeared  in  Charlotte,  with  lions  and  tigers  and  a 
brass  band.  About  the  same  time,  Dr.  Shannon  advertised 
that  he  was  in  Charlotte  for  a  short  time  to  practice  and 
teach  "pathetism,"  and  that  the  fee  for  a  full  course  was 
Si 0.00.  He  announced  that  he  would  cure  headache,  tooth- 
ache and  slight  cases  of  rheumatism  free;  for  curing  any 
chronic  disease  he  was  to  be  paid  one  year  after  the  cure  was 
effected!  In  1847.  ^V.  Barth  passed  through  the  county 
practicing  "animal  magnetism."  In  March,  1833,  "Mr. 
Prosser,  the  American  Fire  King,''  appeared  at  the  Masonic 
Hall  and  exhibited  "his  power  of  withstanding  high  degrees 
of  heat,  eating  melted  lead,  blazing  sealing  wax  and  live 
coals."  April  28,  1852,  Mr.  John  Vane  was  in  the  county 
teaching  people  how  to  dectect  counterfeit  money.  Daguer- 
reotype artists  often  spent  several  weeks  in  town  and  were 
widely  patronized. 

Lectures,  circuses,  shows  and  exhibitions  of  all  kinds  were 
numerous.  The  Odd  Fellows  and  Masons  generally  cele- 
brated on  May  20th  or  July  4th.  and  the  young  people  held 
festivities  on  May  day.  The  Charlotte  Jockey  Club  was  the 
source  of  much  entertainment,  and  their  races,  May  i,  1838, 
were  attended  by  large  crowds.  At  a  4th  of  July  celebration 
at  Providence  in  that  year,  a  cannon  exploded,  killing  Wil- 
liam L.  Patton  and  wounding  Jonah  Boyes  and  Hugh  Peo- 
ples. In  October.  1855,  the  Mecklenburg  County  Agricul- 
tural Society  held  a  fair  in  Charlotte,  and  the  society  was  re- 
organized, and  fairs  were  thereafter  held  every  year  until 
the  beginning  of  the  war.  May  20,  1848,  was  the  occasion 
of  a  large  celebration  with  processions ;  speeches  by  Rev. 
Cyrus  Johnston,  William  S.  Harris,  of  Cabarrus,  and  Hon. 
J.  W.  Ellis ;  music  by  the  Providence  band,  and  a  big  dinner. 


122  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

July  4,  1847,  there  was  a  celebration  and  free  barbecue  in 
town.  Rev.  H.  B.  Cunningham  opened  the  exercises  with 
prayer,  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  read  by  S.  Nye 
Hutchison,  James  A.  Fox  delivered  the  oration,  and  rail- 
road speeches  were  made  by  J.  W.  Osborne  and  J.  H.  Wil- 
son. 

North  Carolina  furnished  one  regiment  uf  infantry  for 
the  Mexican  war  in  1846.  but  Mecklenburg  had  no  part  in 
the  formation  of  the  regiment.  Some  of  the  enterprising 
patriots  volunteered  and  obtained  permission  to  raise  a  com- 
pany of  ''light  horse  dragoons."  G.  W.  Caldwell  was  captain, 
and  E.  C.  Davidson,  J.  K.  Harrison  and  A.  A.  Norman 
were  lieutenants,  and  D.  C.  Robinson  was  a  sergeant.  They 
left  Charlotte  in  April,  1847,  went  to  Charleston,  and  from 
there  to  Vera  Cruz,  where  they  joined  the  American  forces 
and  engaged  in  several  battles.  The  Governor  of  the  State 
at  that  time  was  ^\'illiam  A.  Graham,  of  Orange  county,  a 
son  of  Gen.  Joseph  Graham,  and  it  is  also  worthy  of  notice 
that  a  native  of  the  county,  James  Knox  Polk,  was  President 
of  the  United  States. 

In  November,  1848.  a  medical  society  was  organized  in 
Charlotte  for  the  purpose  of  uplifting  the  profession.     In 

1850,  the  smallpox  spread  throughout  the  county.  In  No- 
vember of  that  year  the  doctors  published  a  signed  statement 
declaring  that  the  disease  was  not  smallpox,  but  in  Decem- 
ber, Dr.  Mcllwaine  declared  that  it  was  smallpox,  and  de- 
manded that  precautions  be  taken  against  it.     January  3. 

1 85 1,  a  board  of  health  was  formed  by  the  authorities  and  a 
report  was  submitted  showing  that  at  that  time  there  were 
109  cases  of  the  disease  in  Charlotte,  16  others  in  the  county 
and  that  9  negroes  and  one  white  man  had  died  with  it.  The 
epidemic  continued  through  1851,.  and  increased  rapidly 
until  the  warm  weather  began.  Among  the  physicians  in 
Charlotte  and  Mecklenburg  from  1830  to  i860,  were  D.  F. 
Caldwell.  C.  J.  Fox,  Pritchard,  Taylor,  Hutchison,  Robert 
Gibbon,  D.  R.  Williamson,  William  Parham.  J.  C.  Rudi- 
sill,  M.  O'Reilly,  P.  C.  Caldwell,  Mcllwaine,  J.  M.  David- 


^&o     "^ 


^^^  ^^^O-^^.      /a_    •-;«»—'  — y 


BILL   OF   SALE. 


JVeffroes  for  SiaMe. 

On  the  18th  day  of  Deeembep 

next,  at  the  Plantation  of  the  late  Obedience  Dinkins,  dcc'd. 
I  will  otrcr  for  sale  

IS  likely  NEGROES, 

Tiz :  5  Mm,  S  Women,  2  B»ys,  aud  "i  Girls,  a  quantity  of 

Cotton,  Corn  and  Fodder, 

1  Horse,  3  Cown^^^nd-ettH^e^, 

1  Cotton  Gin  &  Gearing-, 

Farming:  Tools, 

Household  &  Kitclien  Fnrnitnre, 

with  other  articles  not  mentioned.  The  sale  will  continue 
from  day  to  day.  yntil  all  are  s«dd.  A  credit  of  twelve 
months  will  be  given.  Bond  and  approved  security  re- 
quired. 

Sant'l.  Cox,  Executor. 

'      nViile  Hall,  JV.  C,  aVr.  1»,  15?»38. 

N.  B.  411  persons havingclaims against  the  late  OheilUuci 

Dinkins,  deed.,  will  present  them  properly  attested  xyitluu 

the  time  the  law  directs,  or  this  notice  will  be  plead  m  bar 

of  their  recovery.  .«-     ^,^^»r    ^ 

iSAM'L.  COX,  Executor. 


NOTICE  OF  SALE. 


GROWTH  AND  DEVELOPMENT  FROM   1 825  TO   1860.       1 23 

son,  E.  H.  Andrews,  a  dentist,  and  J.  M.  Happoldt,  an  eye 
specialist  and  surgeon,  at  Providence. 

The  census  of  1840  gives  full  particulars  of  Charlotte  and 
Mecklenburg  at  that  time.  There  were  in  Charlotte  849  per- 
sons, of  whom  548  were  white  and  301  were  negroes. 
Among  the  other  things  enumerated  are  twelve  stores,  one 
bank  agent,  three  taverns,  one  tannery,  one  printing  office, 
one  weekly  paper,  two  academies,  one  common  school,  two 
n)inisters,  six  lawyers,  six  doctors,  four  miners  and  fifty 
mechanics.  The  population  in  1830  was  717,  and  in  1851 
it  was  1,186.  At  this  latter  date  the  town  property  was 
valued  at  $122,740,  and  in  addition,  the  41,976  acres  of  land 
in  the  militia  district  was  valued  at  $162,540.  The  tax  lists 
also  included  gold  and  silver  plate  worth  $350,  thirteen 
pleasure  -carriages,  eighty-three  gold  watches,  thirty-eight 
silver  watches  and  twenty-four  pianos. 

In  the  whole  county  were  11,909  white  people  and  6,841 
negroes;  1,692  persons  engaged  in  agriculture,  234  in  manu- 
facturing and  trades,  49  in  commerce,  94  in  mining  and  58 
in  learned  professions.  One  hundred  and  eighty-seven  white 
persons  more  than  twenty  years  of  age  could  not  read  or 
write.  One  college  had  81  students,  5  academies  had  185 
and  25  common  schools  had  475.  Only  twenty-four  pen- 
sioners lived  in  the  county.  There  were  9  tanneries,  15  dis- 
tilleries, 15  gold  mines,  i  carriage  factory,  11  flour  mills, 
23  grist  mills,  32  saw  mills  and  32  stores.  In  1850,  the 
county  contained  712  town  lots,  valued  at  $124,345,  and 
289,522  acres  of  land  valued  at  $1,059,968.  The  total  tax 
was  70  cents  on  the  poll  and  30  cents  on  each  $100  valuation 
of  property. 


Authority : — Newspapers,   County   Records,   and   Census 
Reports. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

RAILROADS   AND    INDUSTRIES   FROM   1830   TO   1860. 

Realization  of  Necessity  for  Better  Means  of  Travel  and  Commerce. 
— Work  on  the  Catawba  River — Railroad  Agitation  in  1833 — The 
Old  Stage  Coach — First  Passenger  Train  in  1852 — County  Road 
Commissioners — Varied  Industries. 

Many  years  before  the  war,  the  people  of  Mecklenburg 
were  beginning  to  realize,  the  importance  of  diversified  in- 
dustries. The  agitation  for  the  ])roposed  railroads  and  the 
excitement  attendant  upon  the  construction  of  them,  acted 
as  awakening  influences.  Discovery  of  gold  was  an  impor- 
tant factor,  and  much  interest  was  manifested  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  mint.  The  great  improvement  of  cotton 
mill  machinery  also  had  its  influence.  The  primar)-  reason, 
.and  perhaps  the  most  important  one,  was  that  the  country 
was  divided  into  a  comparatively  small  numl^er  of  landed 
estates ;  there  were  no  farms  for  sale,  and  hence  the  new  pop- 
ulation was  forced  to  give  attention  to  something  besides 
agriculture.  An  industrial  crisis  was  imminent,  and  the 
problem  would  have  solved  itself  by  natural  agencies  within 
a  few  more  years,  had  not  sectional  differences  brought  on 
the  war. 

As  early  as  1797,  there  was  legislation  for  the  purpose  of 
rendering  the  Catawba  river  navigable.  In  1801,  a  stock 
company,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Waightstill  Avery,  was 
formed  under  the  provisions  of  this  law^  The  capital  stock 
of  the  company  was  $15,000,  and  the  income  was  to  be  de- 
rived from  tolls  on  the  river  trade.  In  1809,  the  Legislature 
passed  an  act  allowing  a  lottery  to  raise  five  thousand  dol- 
lars to  aid  in  the  enterprise.  In  1817,  a  resolution  w^as 
passed  relative  to  a  proposed  canal  to  connect  Rocky  river 
and  the  Catawba.  The  Catawd3a  N^avigation  Company,  in 
1829,  was  given  five  more  years  in  which  to  complete  the 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIES  FROM    183O  TO    l86o.      1 25 

work.  As  population  increased  and  the  necessity  for  a  better 
mode  of  transportation  became  apparent,  the  Mecklenburg 
people  gave  more  thought  than  ever  to  the  river  navigation, 
but  about  then  the  railroad  talk  began,  and  that  at  once  com- 
manded the  attention. 

October  7,  1833,  a  public  meeting  for  the  discussion  of  in- 
ternal improvements  was  held  in  the  court  house  and  dele- 
gates were  appointed  to  a  railroad  meeting  in  Salisbury.  At 
a  convention  held  in  Salisbury,  October  10,  1836,  Mecklen- 
burg and  eighteen  other  counties  were  represented  by  a  total 
number  of  131  delegates.  Resolutions  were  adopted  ask- 
ing the  Legislature  to  aid  in  the  building  of  railroads,  which 
was  of  so  great  importance  to  the  western  counties.  About 
the  same  time,  Mecklenburg  sent  three  representatives  to 
the  Knoxville  railroad  convention,  which  met  to  consider 
the  advantages  to  be  secured  by  building  the  Charleston  and 
Cincinnati  railroad.  It  was  agreed  that  "It  will  form  a  bond 
of  union  among  the  States  which  will  give  safety  to  our 
property  and  security  to  our  institutions."  Similar  conven- 
tions were  held  at  short  intervals  in  Charlotte,  Salisbury, 
Knoxville  and  other  interested  cities  for  a  number  of  years. 

A  regular  organization  for  the  promotion  of  improve- 
ments was  kept  up  in  Charlotte  after  1845,  and  the  commit- 
tee of  correspondence  included  the  best  men  of  the  county. 
April  27,  1847,  ^  railroad  meeting  was  held  to  take  definite 
action  regarding  the  railroad  to  Columbia.  It  was  stated 
that  the  road  would  not  be  built  to  Charlotte  unless  a  suf- 
ficient amount  of  stock  was  subscribed  by  Charlotte  people. 
The  work  of  securing  subscriptions  was  begun  at  once,  and 
in  May,  1849,  the  contract  was  made  for  the  grading  of  the 
road,  which  was  to  be  completed  by  January  i,  1851. 

Previous  to  the  advent  of  the  railroad,  the  public  means  of 
travel  was  the  stage  coach.  There  was  usually  only  one 
trip  made  each  way  ever}^  week,  but  on  some  of  the  more 
popular  routes,  two  trips  were  made.  The  arrival  and  de- 
parture of  the  stages  were,  ordinarily,  the  chief  events  of  in- 
terest.    People  living  on  the  line  from  Fayetteville  through 


126  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

Charlotte  to  Lincolnton,  received  mail  twice  a  week,  it 
being  carried  in  four-horse  coaches.  There  were  other 
routes  from  Wilkesboro  to  Charlotte,  Greensboro  through 
Salisbury  to  Charlotte  and  on  to  Yorkville,  S.  C, 
and  from  Charlotte  to  Camden  and  Columbia.  Mail  was 
not  of  much  importance,  as  people  rarely  expected  to  receive 
any.  In  1831,  the  Charlotte  postmaster  advertised  eighty 
letters  that  had  not  been  called  for,  some  of  them  addressed 
to  people  living  in  the  town.  The  high  rate  of  postage,  and 
the  fact  that  it  had  to  be  paid  by  the  ones  who  received  the 
mail,  probably  had  something  to  do  with  the  condition. 

The  first  goods  by  freight  over  the  road  to  Char- 
lotte was  received  by  a  merchant  October  6,  1852, 
though  the  track  had  not  then  been  completed  into  town. 
October  21,  1852,  the  arrival  of  the  first  passenger  train 
was  greeted  with  a  tremendous  celebration.  Crowds  came 
from  Columbia,  Chester,  Winnsboro,  and  the  surrounding 
country,  and  the  newspapers  stated  that  twenty  thousand 
people  were  present.  The  Columbia  band  furnished  the 
music,  and  John  A.  Young  was  chief  marshal.  Gen.  Young 
made  the  address  of  welcome  in  behalf  of  Charlotte,  and 
James  W.  Osborne  for  North  Carolina,  and  President  Pal- 
mer, of  the  railroad,  responded  to  the  addresses,  and  he  was 
followed  by  Ex- President  Goldsden  and  John  W.  Ellis.  The 
barbecue  was  given  on  the  grounds  of  the  Femaie  Academy, 
and  at  night  there  was  a  dance  and  a  display  of  fireworks. 
C.  Banknight  was  the  first  railroad  agent  in  this  city,  and, 
November  3,  1852,  he  advertised  daily  passenger  trains  be- 
tween Columbia  and  Charlotte. 

In  1856,  the  road  from  Goldsboro  to  Charlotte  was  com- 
pleted. Until  that  time,  the  Democratic  party  had  opposed 
State  aid  to  internal  improvements,  and  many  persons  open- 
ly proclaimed  that  the  whole  movement  was  impractical  and 
would  eventually  fail.  Gradually  everyone  was  brought  to 
realize  the  importance  of  the  innovation,  and  then  there  was 
no  further  objection  to  State  aid,  and  the  system  was  ex- 
tended rapidly.     A  large  number  of  roads  w^ere  chartered 


RAILROADS  AND  INDUSTRIES  FROM    183O  TO   1860.      12/ 

between  1840  and  i860,  but  many  of  them  were  never  car- 
ried any  further.  The  two  roads  put  Charlotte  into  connec- 
tion with  the  North  and  South,  and  drew  the  attention  of  the 
county  to  inter-state  commerce.  It  was  quite  evident  that 
the  cultivation  of  agricultural  products  was  not  sufficient 
for  the  maintenance  of  an  increasing  population,  and  there 
was  much  said  and  written  about  the  value  of  manufactur- 
ing cotton  and  wool. 

Daniel  Alexander  announced,  July  16,  1833,  that  he  had 
removed  his  wool  carding  machine  to  his  lower  mill,  on 
Mallard  creek,  where  he  would  card  wool  for  six  and  one- 
quarter  cents  a  pound.  Three  years  previously,  Z.  H.  Bissell 
was  engaged  in  rope  making  at  the  St.  Catherine  mine. 
In  1839,  W.  H.  Neel  was  conducting  .the  Sugar  creek  mills, 
five  miles  southwest  of  Charlotte,  and  was  also  carding 
wool.  Wilson  Parks  was  running  a  wool  carding  machine 
on  McAlpin's  creek,  eight  miles  below  Charlotte,  in  1842. 
The  Rock  Island  Factory  began  operations  in  February, 
1849,  and  in  April,  1852,  was  working  two  sets  of  cards, 
480  spindles  and  thirty  looms.  At  this  factory,  black  and 
gray  cassimeres  were  made,  some  of  which  were  being  sold 
in  Wilmington,  in  February,  1851,  for  Sy^  cents  a  yard. 
Tweeds,  jeans  and  kerseys  were  also  made,  and  wool  was 
bought  at  25  cents  a  pound.  November  14,  1854,  steam 
power  was  used  for  the  first  time  in  Leroy  Springs'  mill, 
which  had  a  capacity  of  two  hundred  bushels  of  flour  a  day. 
This  was  the  first  steam  engine  used  in  Charlotte.  Feathers 
were  generally  used  for  beds  and  pillows,  and  in  1838,  a  pat- 
ent feather  renovator  was  in  operation  in  Charlotte.  The 
Charlotte  Gas  Light  Company  was  chartered  and  began 
supplying  gas  for  lighting  purposes  in  1858.  At  that  time, 
W.  D.  Pinckney  &  Co.  were  manufacturing  hydraulic 
presses  and  other  machinery ;  P.  Savers  was  a  local  architect 
and  civil  engineer;  J.  D.  Palmer  was  manufacturing  candy, 
and  Alexander  &  McDougal  were  operating  the  Charlotte 
machine  shops. 

In  1778,  there  was  a  regularly  organized  board  of  road 


x^ 


128  HISTORY  OF   MKCKLUNBURG  COUNTY. 

cnnimissioners  in  Mecklenburg.  The  county  was  divided 
into  thirty-eight  sections,  over  each  of  which  was  a  superin- 
tendent. Before  1810,  the  commissioners,  at  their  meeting, 
had  many  petitions  for  roads  and  bridges  to  consider.  The 
Salisbury  and  Camden  road  was  the  first  one  in  the  county, 
but  even  before  the  Revolution,  efforts  had  been  made  to 
have  others  surveyed.  The  Legislature,  in  181 7,  provided 
for  a  road  to  be  surveyed  and  opened  from  Fayetteville, 
through  Mecklenburg  to  Morganton.  In  the  next  year, 
Thomas  G.  Polk  and  others  were  authorized  to  lay  off  and 
oi>en  a  road  from  Milton,  in  Caswell  county,  to  Salisbury, 
Charlotte  and  the  South  Carolina  line.  In  1825,  all  white 
men  between  the  ages  of  18  and  45,  and  all  negroes  between 
the  ages  of  16  and  50,  were  required  to  work  the  public 
roads.  The  county  court,  in  May,  1827,  appropriated  two 
hundred  dollars  for  a  complete  survey  of  .the  county  roads, 
bridges,  water  courses,  hills,  to\vns,  villages,  factories  and 
other  details.  This  work  was  done  by  Joab  Alexander, 
Thomas  G.  Polk  and  William  Lee  Davidson.  In  1830,  there 
were  twenty-five  public  roads  in  the  county,  and  when  the 
railroad  agitation  began,  there  was  much  talk  of  plank  roads 
to  connect  the  railroad  stations  with  the  country.  In  1849. 
a  plank  road  from  Charlotte  to  Lincolnton  was  proposed.  In 
1 85 1,  the  road  to  Taylorsville  was  begun,  and  several  others 
were  planned  and  some  of  them  were  built. 


AtitJwrify : — State  and  County  Records  and  Newspapers. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

MINING  AND  THE  MINT  BEFORE  1860. 

Discovery  of  Gold  in  1790— First  Attempt  at  Mining  in  1825— Foreign 
Investors  Take  Active  Interest— Most  Noted  Mines  and  Their 
Productions— Mint  Established  in  Charlotte  in  1837,  and  Its 
Record  Since. 

In  1790,  a  little  son  of  Conrad  Reed,  who  lived  in  what 
is  now  Cabarrus  county,  found  a  large  nugget  of  gold  at  a 
place  afterwards  known  as  Reed's  mine.  Soon  thereafter, 
some  nuggets  were  found  near  Rozzel's  Ferry,  in  Mecklen- 
burg. For  twenty  years  after  the  discovery  of  gold,  the 
people  did  not  know  of  its  true  value.  It  was  used  chiefly 
for  lining  the  powder  holes  in  rifles,  as  it  would  not  rust, 
and  though  a  considerable  quantity  was  found,  it  was  not 
put  to  any  more  practical  use.  All  of  it  was  known  as 
"branch  gold,"  being  picked  up,  for  the  most  part,  in 
creeks. 

The  first  attempt  to  follow  a  gold  vein  was  made  by  Sam- 
uel McComb,  on  his  land  near  Charlotte,  in  1825.  He  oper- 
ated the  mine  for  several  years,  and  then  disposed  of  it  tO'  a 
mining  company.  Gold  mining  machinery  was  scarce  and 
ineffective,  and  as  a  consequence,  the  development  of  the  in- 
dustry was  slow.  The  McComb  mine  was  later  known  as 
the  oid  Charlotte  mine,  and  still  later  as  the  St.  Catherine 
mine,  and  is  located  one  mile  west  of  the  city.  It  was  well 
equipped  for  that  period,  and  was  considered  prosperous  for 
a  number  of  years.  Capp's  mine  was  being  worked  in  1826, 
and  is  located  five  and  one-half  miles  from  Charlotte. 

In  1830.  Chevalier  Rivafanoli,  an  Italian  and  an  agent 
for  a  London  mining  company,  arrived  in  Charlotte  to  en- 
gage in  mining.  He  brought  with  him  several  foreigners, 
who  were  experienced  miners,  and  he  leased  the  property 
owned  by  Bissell  &  Baker.  He  possessed  considerable 
capital,  and  his  ventures  met  with  success.     About  the  same 


130  HISTORY  OF   MECKLKNBURG  COUNTY. 

time,  some  nortlierners  came  to  this  section  and  also  took 
an  interest  in  the  search  for  gold.  Immigrants  to  Mecklen- 
burg were  numerous  for  several  years,  until  the  discovery 
of  gold  in  California  in  1847.  ^vhen  the  tide  oi  immigration 
turned  the  other  way. 

Some  of  the  newspapers  expressed  a  fear  that  the  min- 
ing would  have  an  injurious  efifect  upon  agriculture,  and 
would  encourage  idleness  as  the  natural  result  of  easily 
secured  wealth.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  a  stimulus  and  en- 
couragement to  all  industrial  pursuits.  There  was  an  in- 
crease of  trade  and  of  employment  for  mechanics,  new 
buildings  were  erected  and  all  the  vacant  ones  were  hlled. 
and  as  a  consequence  of  the  new  inhabitants  and  the  tem- 
porary speculations,  the  circulation  of  money  was  more  gen- 
eral. Value  of  property  increased  all  over  the  county,  and 
those  who  did  not  wish  to  sell  their  lands  and  buildings, 
could  easily  rent  or  lease  them  on  good  terms. 

Capp's  mine,  in  1830,  represented  an  investment  of  $20,- 
000.  The  weekly  product  of  gold  averaged  eight  hundred 
pennyweight,  and  the  weekly  expenses  amounted  to  $125. 
Thirty-eight  negroes  were  employed  to  do  the  hardest  work. 
A  fourteen  horse-ix)w^er  steam  engine  w^as  used  to  pump 
the  water  from  a  ninety  foot  shaft,  and  it  also  furnished 
power  for  two  mills  for  grinding  ore.  On  Mallard  creek, 
six  miles  from  the  mine,  were  four  grinding  mills  and 
eighteen  pounders,  all  operated  by  water  power. 

The  Dunn  mine  and  Rudisill's  mine  were  worked  from  an 
early  period,  and  a  large  number  were  opened  in  various 
parts  of  the  county,  most  of  them  being  abandoned  after  a 
few  years.  Dunn's  mine  was  first  worked  by  Dr.  Samuel 
Henderson,  who  \vas  called  ''the  gold  pioneer."  In  183 1, 
the  property  was  transferred  to  Fanoli.  The  cradle  and 
sluice  were  the  only  means  of  recovering  gold  for  many 
years.  Crushing  machinery  was  in  use  in  1830,  and  the 
first  stamp  in  the  county  was  put  up  at  St.  Catherine's  mine 
in  1840.  This  was  the  work  of  J.  Humphrey  Bissell.  whose 
services  to  the  county  and  to  the  science  of  mining  were  val- 


MINING  AND  THE  MINT   BEFORE    1860.  I3I 

uable.  Among  the  others  who'  helped  to  build  up  the  indus- 
try were  Thomas  Penman,  Dr.  Daniel  Asbury.  Commodore 
Stockton  and  Admiral  Wilkes.  In  1843,  J.  Gibson  took  out 
a  patent  for  a  location  on  Catawba  river,  remarking  that  he 
cared  nothing  for  the  water,  but  was  after  the  gold  in  the 
sand  at  the  bottom.  The  sand  was  scooped  up  with  long- 
handled  shovels  by  men  on  a  float. 

March  28,  1834,  John  Harrison  gave  to  J.  B.  S.  Harris  a 
receipt  for  $188.12  "for  the  building  of  a  gold  machine." 
In  1833  and  1834,  the  Legislature  incorporated  the  Wash- 
ington, Franklin,  Mt.  Island,  Mecklenburg,  North  Carolina, 
Hope,  Campbell's  Creek,  American,  and  Claremont  gold 
mining  companies  in  Mecklenburg  county.  The  list  of  in- 
corporators includes  nearly  all  of  the  leading  citizens  of  the 
county  at  that  time.  There  were  ten  mines  in  operation  in 
the  county  in  1850. 

W.  Morrison  was  local  agent  for  the  Bank  of  Nevv- 
bern  in  1830,  and  in  January,  1832,  a  meeting  was 
held  in  Charlotte  to  discuss  plans  for  securing  a  branch 
of  the  United  States  Bank,  but  the  effort  was  unsuccess- 
ful. In  1834,  a  branch  of  the  North  Carolina  Bank  was 
secured.  Previously  there  had  been  so  little  money  in  circu- 
lation that  there  was  no  need  for  a  bank.  The  gold  mining 
ventures  caused  an  increase  in  the  circulation,  and  the  new 
citizens  agitated  the  matter  until  the  agency  of  the  State 
Bank  was  established.  Thomas  J.  Hogg,  of  Raleigh,  was 
agent  for  the  bank  in  1855,  J.  J.  Blackwood  in  1842,  W.  A. 
Lucas  in  1852,  and  Thomas  W.  Dewey  in  1853.  In  1852, 
H.  B.  Williams  was  local  agent  for  the  Bank  of  Camden. 
April  19,  1853,  the  Bank  of  Charlotte  was  organized,  with 
an  authorized  capital  of  $300,000,  divided  into  shares  of 
$50  each.  H.  B.  Wihiams  was  president,  W.  A.  Lucas 
cashier,  and  the  board  of  directors  consisted  of  T.  H.  Brem, 
J.  H.  Wilson,  D.  Parks,  S.  P.  Alexander,  A.  C.  Steele,  W. 
R.  Myers,  and  H.  B.  Williams.  Most  of  the  money  used 
was  State  bills,  and  they  were  generally  discounted. 

From  the  time  gold  was  first  mined  in  the  county,  there 


1^2  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

was  a  demand  for  a  branch  of  the  United  States  mint  in 
Charlotte,  by  counties  in  this  section  both  in  North  and 
South  CaroHna.  In  1830,  the  North  CaroHna  General  As- 
sembly appointed  a  special  committee,  under  the  chairman- 
ship of  Gideon  Glenn,  to  investigate  the  subject.  Their  re- 
port stated  that  the  annual  production  of  gold  in  the  State 
amounted  to  $5oo,(XX),  at  a  cost  of  $i50,ckx),  and  recom- 
mended the  establishment  of  a  mint.  Acting  upon  this  rec- 
ommendation, the  United  States  Congress  appropriated 
$50,000  for  the  purpose,  March  3,  1835.  The  corner  stone 
was  laid  with  impressive  ceremonies  January  8,  1836,  and 
the  mint  was  opened  December  4,  1837,  and  did  a  large 
amount  of  business  from  the  start. 

Col.  John  H.  Wheeler  was  the  first  superintendent,  and  he 
was  succeeded  in  1841  by  B.  S.  Gaither.  Green  W.  Cald- 
well was  appointed  to  the  position  in  1844,  and  resigned 
two  years  later  to  volunteer  for  the  Mexican  war.  He  was 
succeeded  by  J.  W.  Alexander,  who  served  until  1849. 
James  W.  Osborne  was  appointed  in  1849,  '^^'^^  ^^^^d  the  po- 
sition until  G.  W.  Caldwell  was  reappointed  in  1853.  Dr. 
John  H.  Gibbon  was  assayer  during  the  whole  period 
preceding  the  war.  The  mint  was  burned  in  July,  1844,  and 
most  of  the  machinery  was  thereby  ruined.  D.  M.  Barrin- 
ger,  representative  in  Congress,  secured  the  passage  of  a 
bill  appropriating  $25,000  for  rebuilding,  in  February,  1845. 
Superintendent  Caldwell  received  instructions  regarding 
the  proposed  work  on  the  i8th  of  April,  and  within  three 
days  had  contracted  with  H.  C.  Owen  to  do  the  work  for 
$20,000,  thus  saving  $5,000  for  the  government.  The  mint, 
during  the  first  year  of  its  existence,  coined  gold  to  the 
amount  of  $84,165,  the  expenses  being  $17,466,  and  bullion 
being  received  to  the  amount  of  $131,698.  This  gradually 
increased  until  1849.  when  the  bullion  value  was  $390,731, 
and  the  coinage  was  $361,229. 


Authority: — Records  on  File  in  the  United  States  Mint, 
Newspapers  and  County  Records. 


CHAPTER   XXVII. 

SLAVERY,  POLITICS  AND  SECESSION.      (1825  to  1861.) 

Dividing  Issues  Discussed — Customs  Regarding  Slaves — Political 
Animosity — Mecklenburg  Strongly  Southern  in  Feeling — County 
Declares  for  Secession  Twenty  Days  Before  South  Carolina. 
— North  Carolina   Secedes. 

The  Missouri  compromise,  which  divided  the  nation  into 
a  slavery  and  a  non-slavery  section,  was  effected  in  1820. 
The  administration  of  James  Madison,  from  181 7  to  1825, 
has  gone  into^  history  as  the  era  of  good  feeling,  but  it  was 
only  a  calm  before  the  storm.  By  the  time  it  ended,  the  term 
"abolitionist"  was  being  applied  to  certain  inhabitants  of 
"free"  States,  who  were  clamoring  for  the  suppression  of 
the  slavery  system.  The  North  was  not  directly  concerned  in 
the  industry  which  was  the  chief  source  of  wealth  to  the 
South,  and  tO'  the  continuance  of  which  the  negro  was  con- 
sidered essential.  Hence,  it  was  quite  natural  that  the  two 
sections  should  have  different  opinions  on  the  subject. 

According  to  the  laws  of  1826,  the  time  for  selling  and 
hiring  slaves  was  the  first  day  of  the  Superior  Court,  which 
met  twice  a  year.  The  Legislature  of  the  same  year  made 
it  illegal  for  free  negroes  to  come  into  the  State.  At  that 
time,  there  were  1,500  negroes  in  the  county,  not  counting 
the  few  free  ones.  Several  persons  owned  as  many  as 
twenty-five  salves,  and  80  persons  owned  more  than  six 
each.  The  highest  price  received  for  one  at  sale  in  that 
year  was  $568,  and  the  value  ranged  from  that  down  to 
$100  for  a  small  boy.  In  1850,  there  were  678  slave  owners 
in  the  coimty,  and  they  owned  2,713  slaves,  and  155  men 
owned  as  many  as  six  each. 

Hiring  slaves  and  the  custom  of  employing  overseers 
gave  rise  to  much  trouble.  Few  overseers  were  employed  in 
this  county,  but  the  practice  of  hiring  out  the  negroes  was 


134  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY, 

common.  Such  a  contract  usually  stipulated  that  the  lessee 
should  "control  the  negroes  as  if  owner"  for  one  year,  and 
that  he  should  provide  them  with  articles  of  clothing,  which 
were  mentioned.  He  was  also  required  to  protect  their 
health  and  strength,  and  to  otherwise  care  for  them. 

August  8,  1859,  three  negroes  who  belonged  to  J.  H.  and 
W.  E.  White,  discovered  that  the  railroad  bridge  across  the 
Catawba  had  been  damaged  by  a  storm,  and  succeeded  in 
stopping  the  train  and  thereby  saving  many  lives.  They 
were  liberally  rewarded  by  the  passengers  for  this  act. 

A  special  tax  of  25  cents  was  levied  on  each  negro  to  pay 
the  expenses  of  the  patrollers.  The  value  of  slaves  increased 
rapidly,  and  in  1841,  Leroy  Springs  sold  a  negro  shoemaker 
to  Samuel  A.  Harris  for  $1,500.  By  that  time,  the  free  ne- 
groes were  causing  trouble  by  inciting  the  slaves  to  run 
away.  Sq^tember  20,  1852,  a  public  meeting  in  Charlotte 
was  largely  attended  to  determine  what  steps  should  be 
taken  in  regard  to  these  matters. 

October  25,  1830,  an  editorial  in  tlie  Charlotte  Jourfial 
called  attention  to  the  state  of  affairs  wherein  talk  about  dis- 
solution of  the  Union  had  l^ecome  so  common  as  not  to  ex- 
cite horror,  as  it  once  did.  The  readers  were  counseled  that 
such  things  should  not  be.  May  8,  1832,  another  editorial 
mentioned  the  evil  effect  of  "treating"  at  electioais.  and  said 
it  should  be  prohibited.  Until  the  secession  talk  began,  the 
Whigs  and  Democrats  were  about  evenly  matched,  but  after 
that,  the  Democrats  led  easily,  because  all  Whig  secession- 
ists voted  with  them.  The  presidential  campaign  of  1848 
w^as  fought  on  the  slavery  issue,  with  particular  reference  to 
its  exclusion  from  Texas,  and  Zachary  Taylor,  the  Whig 
candidate,  was  elected,  and  received  a  majority  in  Mecklen- 
burg county,  but  the  county  was  otherwise  Democratic.  In 
the  next  year,  G.  W.  Caldwell  was  elected  to  Congress  as  an 
Independent  candidate.  In  1852,  Franklin  Pierce.  Demo- 
crat, was  elected  President,  and  Reid,  for  Governor,  received 
in  the  county  1,421  votes,  to  his  opponents's  731.  Pierce 
was  succeeded  by  Buchanan,  also  a  Democrat.     August  5, 


SLAVERY,  POLITICS  AND  SECESSION,  I  35 

1855,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  Charlotte  to  discuss  the 
issues  of  the  day,  and  the  idea  of  secession  was  popular, 
though  some  questioned  its  expediency  and  advised  against 
talking  of  it.     There  were  1,280  voters  in  Mecklenburg  in 

1856,  the  creation  of  Union  county  having  reduced  the  num- 
ber from  more  than  two-  thousand. 

In  1835,  the  State  Legislature  passed  resolutions,  in  view 
of  the  proceedings  of  abolitionists  in  the  Eastern  and  Mid- 
dle States,  defining  the  position  of  North  Carolina  on  the 
negro  question.  It  was  claimed  that  the  States  had  the  sole 
right  to  regulate  slavery,  and  that  the  constitution  delegated 
no  such  authority  to  the  Federal  government.  Congress  was 
petitioned  to  restrict  the  circulation  of  incendiary  abolition- 
ist literature  in  the  South,  and  to  prevent  the  abolitionists 
from  stirring  up  strife. 

Gradually  the  sectional  slavery  issue  became  a  political 
issue,  and  this  made  the  feeling  more  bitter  and  more  open. 
The  State  Democratic  convention  in  1858  convened  in  Char- 
lotte, and  477  delegates  were  present,  representing  yj 
counties.  Hon.  J.  W.  Ellis,  of  Rowan,  was  nominated  for 
Governor,  and  was  elected  in  August  by  12,000  majority, 
receiving  553  majority  in  Mecklenburg.  At  the  same  time, 
W.  F.  Davidson  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate,  and  Dr. 
H.  M.  Pritchard  and  M.  W.  Wallace  to  the  House  of  Rep- 
resentatives. William  J.  Yates  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  Governor's  Council.  Governor  Ellis  was  re-elected 
in  i860;  John  Walker  w^as  elected  Senator,  and  S.  W.  Davis 
and  J.  W.  Potts  Representatives. 

In  the  presidential  campaign  oi  i860,  there  were  four 
candidates — Breckinridge,  Bell,  Lincoln  and  Douglass.  The 
vote  in  Mecklenburg  was:  Breckinridge,  1,1 01;  Bell,  826; 
and  Douglass,  135.  The  Charlotte  Whig  said  that  the 
"Union"  party  in  this  section  had  "gone  up  higher  than  a 
kite."  The  feeling  was  strong,  as  it  was  generally  believed 
that  Lincoln's  platform  and  speeches  made  it  clear  that  the 
rights  of  the  South  would  be  ignored.  J.  E.  Herrick,  a 
northerner,   was   in  Charlotte  in  November,    i860,   and   it 


136  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

being  reported  that  he  had  "a  touch  of  abolitionism."'  he 
was  politely  advised  to  depart  from  the  county. 

December  i,  i860,  there  was  held  in  the  court  house  a 
public  meeting  which  has  but  one  equal  in  the  history  of  the 
county — May  20,  1775.  A  tremendous  crowd  was  in  at- 
tendance, the  best  men  coming  from  every  section.  James 
B.  Robinson,  of  Providence,  was  chairman,  and  John  E. 
Brown  and  M.  L.  Wallace  were  secretaries.  Speeches  were 
made  by  A.  C.  Williamson,  S.  J.  Lowrie,  ^^^  Kerr,  Gen. 
Young,  J.  H.  Wilson  and  others.  Major  Hill  and  Lieu- 
tenant Lee  were  called  upon  for  speeches  and  declined,  say- 
ing they  were  ready  to  act,  but  not  to  talk.  A  committee 
of  eleven  reported  resolutions  declaring  that  the  election  of 
Lincoln  predicated  the  subversion  of  .the  constitution,  and 
that  there  should  be  a  State  convention  to  consider  what  ac- 
tiiin  was  necessary.  S.  W.  Davis  presented  the  petition  to 
the  General  Assembly  December  5th.  South  Carolina 
seceded  December  20th. 

January  30,  1861.  the  Legislature  ordered  an  election  to 
be  held  February  28th  to  elect  delegates  to  the  convention, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  determine  whether  or  not  there 
should  l3e  a  convention.  A  public  meeting.  February  9th 
nominated  James  W.  Osborne  and  ^^^illiam  Johnson  as  dele- 
gates. The  election  in  the  State  went  against  the  proposed 
convention  by  a  small  majority,  but  Mecklenburg's  position 
was  clearly  presented  by  the  vote,  which  showed  only  seven 
votes  in  Charlcjtte  and  252  in  the  whole  county  against  the 
convention. 

Public  meetings  were  frequent,  and  a  State  mass  meet- 
ing in  Goldsboro,  February  22d  and  23d,  was  largely  at- 
tended by  Mecklenburg  people.  The  assembly  adjourned  to 
meet  in  Charlotte  May  20th.  and  elaborate  preparations  were 
made  for  the  event,  but  it  was  forestalled  by  Lincoln's  requi- 
sition on  Gov.  Ellis  for  troops.  The  Governor  at  once 
called  the  Legislature  in  special  session,  and  it  ordered  a 
convention  to  convene  Mav  20th.     Osborne  and   Johnson 


SIvAVERY,    POIvlTlCS    AND    SECESSION.  1 3/ 

represented  Mecklenburg,  and  on  the  first  day  of  the  pro- 
ceedings, the  ordinance  of  secession  was  passed  by  a  unani- 
mous vote. 


Authority : — State  and  County  Records  and  Newspapers. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

CIVIL  WAR.     (1861  to  1865.) 

Mecklenburg  Soldiers  Among  the  First  to  Volunteer — Were  Promi- 
nent in  the  Formation  of  the  First  or  "Bethel"  Regiment — Dis- 
tinguished Officers  From  Mecklenburg — Conditions  in  the  County 
During  the  War — Last  Meeting  of  Confederate  Cabinet  Held  in 
Charlotte. 

Early  in  1861,  the  drilling  of  soldiers  began  in  Meck- 
lenburg county.  There  were  frequent  musters  and  parades 
and  exhibitions  by  the  military  companies.  Fort  vSumter, 
in  South  Carolina,  was  surrendered  by  the  Federal  forces  to 
the  State  April  12th.  and  at  that  time  seven  States  had  se- 
ceded. Eight  days  later,  the  United  States  mint  in  Charlotte 
was  seized  and  occupied  by  the  local  militia,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  J.  Y.  Bryce.  Just  one  month  later,  on  the 
eighty-sixth  anniversary  of  the  Mecklenburg  Declaration  of 
Independence,  the  State  of  North  Carolina  dissolved  the 
bonds  whicli  bound  her  to  the  Federal  Union. 

Mecklenburg  county  was  ready  for  the  crisis,  and  took 
a  remarkably  prominent  stand  at  the  very  first  of  the  trouble. 
The  Legislature,  which  met  in  Raleigh  May  ist,  provided 
for  the  Governor  to  raise  ten  regiments  of  troops  for  the 
State.  At  that  time,  North  Carolina  had  not  decided  what 
stand  to  take,  but  as  the  states  north  and  south  of  her  had 
seceded,  she  realized  the  necessity  of  being  prepared  for  any 
emergency,  and  when  President  Lincoln's  requisition  for 
troojis  came,  the  State  was  ready  to  cast  her  lot  with  the 
sister  commonwealths  in  the  common  cause.  William  John- 
son, of  Mecklenburg,  was  appointed  commissary-general 
for  the  State,  and  though  he  held  the  position  but  a  short 
time,  he  did  valuable  serA'ice  by  his  prompt  and  energetic 
work. 

The  entire  history  of  the  Civil  War  does  not  include  a 


CIVIL  WAR.  139 

nobler  example  of  valor  and  patriotism  and  efficiency  than 
the  First  North  Carolina  Volunteers,  commonly  known  as 
the  "Bethel  Regiment,"  and  Mecklenburg  county  has  just 
cause  to  feel  proud  of  its  remarkable  record.  The  Charlotte 
Grays  (Company  C),  and  the  Hornets'  Nest  Rifles  (Com- 
pany B),  were  among  the  first  to  be  mustered  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State.  The  two'  companies  left  Charlotte  April 
1 6th,  and  the  occasion  of  their  departure  was  made  memora- 
ble by  a  hearty  celebration,  and  flags  were  presented  to  the 
young  captains,  E.  A.  Pass  and  L.  S.  Williams,  by  the  young 
ladies  of  the  county.  The  faculty  and  cadets  of  the  Char- 
lotte Military  School  were  all  taken  to  Raleigh  to-  drill  the 
troops,  and  the  regiment  was  organized  in  Raleigh  by  suc- 
cessive orders  dating  from  April  19th  tO'  May  i6th.  D.  H. 
Hill  was  colonel,  Charles  C.  Lee  lieutenant-colonel,  James  H. 
Lane  major.  Rev.  E.  A.  Yates  chaplain,  all  these  men  going 
from  Charlotte.  Three  of  the  companies  were  in  Richmond 
May  1 8th,  and  the  other  seven  arrived  three  days  later,  and 
within  the  succeeding  twenty  days  they  fought  and  won  a 
battle,  and  a  member  of  the  Edgecombe  company  shed  the 
first  blood  for  the  Confederacy. 

The  personnel  and  equipment  and  general  efficiency  of  the 
regiment  occasioned  the  highest  praise,  and  the  Virginia 
papers  united  in  the  opinion  that  it  was  the  equal,  if  not  the 
superior,  of  any  in  the  nation.  It  included  the  best  military 
ability  of  the  State,  and  its  accoutrements  were  all  that  any 
body  of  troops  could  desire.  The  battle  of  Bethel  was 
fought  June  6th.  The  total  number  of  Confederate  troops 
engaged  was  1,408,  and  800  of  them  were  members  of  the 
First  North  Carolina  Regiment,  the  others  being  Virginians. 
A  victory  was  won  over  the  4,400  Federal  troops,  and  in 
the  fighting,  the  two  Charlotte  companies  bore  -conspicuous 
parts  and  were  complimented  for  bravery  and  discipline. 
September  3d,  Col.  Hill  was  made  a  brigadier-general,  and 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lee  was  elected  colonel.  September  21, 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Lane  became  colonel  of  the  Twenty- 
eighth   regiment,    then  being  organized    at    High    Point. 


I40  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

October  12th,  the  "Bethel"  regiment  was  mustered  out  of 
service,  and  reorganized  later  at  High  Point  as  the  Eleventh 
regiment,  in  which  the  Mecklenburg  men  were  hon()red  by 
promotion. 

Mecklenburg  count\-  furnished  one  company  for  the  first 
regiment  of  artillery,  and  one  for  the  first  regiment  of  cav- 
alry, known  respectively  as  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  North 
Carolina  regiments.  Both  companies  were  organized  in 
May,  the  first  by  Captain  Thomas  H.  Brem,  and  the  other 
by  Captain  J.  M.  Aliller.  The  Ninth  regiment  was  en- 
gaged in  one  hundred  and  fifty  battles  during  the  war,  and 
the  Tenth  also  took  an  active  part.  In  these  first  days  of  the 
war,  the  ladies  of  the  county  did  their  duty  as  nobly  as 
did  the  men,  and  they  took  as  much  interest  in  the  conflict. 
They  made  clothes  and  sent,  provisions  of  all  kinds  for  the 
soldiers.  During  the  month  of  June,  the  "Jewess  ladies" 
of  the  town  raised  $150  to  assist  the  volunteers,  and  every 
one  did  all  that  could  be  done. 

In  the  election  of  i860,  2,062  votes  were  cast  in  Meck- 
lenburg; and  between  i860  and  1865,  the  county  furnished 
for  the  Confederacy  twenty-one  companies,  which,  with  re- 
cruits, included  2,713  soldiers.  Besides  these,  there  were 
many  who  joined  other  commands  as  privates  or  officers. 
The  students  of  the  Military  Academy  were  made  drill  mas- 
ters, and  nearly  all  of  them  became  officers.  Col.  Hill  was  a 
lieutenant-general  at  the  close  of  the  war,  and  J.  H.  Lane 
was  a  brigadier-general.  Col.  C.  C.  Lee,  of  the  Thirty- 
seventh  North  Carolina  regiment,  was  killed  at  Frazier's 
Farm,  in  Virginia,  June  30,  1862. 

Col.  R.  M.  McKinney,  of  the  Fifteenth,  was  killed  near 
Yorktown,  April  16,  1862.  Major  E.  A.  Ross  was  killed  at 
Gettysburg,  July  i,  1863.  Hamilton  C.  Jones  was  lieutenant 
colonel  of  the  57th,  w^hich  was  organized  at  Salisbury  July  6. 
1862,  and  he  became  colonel  of  the  regiment  in  1865  ;  was  at 
the  battle  of  Gettysburg  and  other  important  engagements, 
and  serA'ed  throughout  the  war.  Colonel  William  A.  Owens, 
who  left  Charlotte  as  lieutenant  of  the  Hornets'  Nest  Rifles, 


n 

CIVIL  WAR.  141 

; 

was  killed  at  Snicker's  Ford,  Va.,  in  August,  1865.  Lieut. 
Gen.  Leonidas  Polk  was  a  grandson  of  Thomas  Polk  of 
revolutionary  fame. 

At  a  public  mass  meeting  held  in  the  Mecklenburg  court 
house,  August  29,  1863,  the  administrations  of  Governor 
Vance  and  President  Davis  were  endorsed  by  a  unanimous 
vote.  The  public  spirit  was  active,  and  when  Gen.  John  H. 
Morgan  passed  through  the  city,  December  24,  1863,  the  cit- 
izens of  Charlotte  raised  $4,000  to  aid  him  in  equipping  a 
new  cavalry  force.  January  13,  1864,  Captain  Raphael 
Semmes  delivered  an  address  in  the  court  house,  and  was 
enthusiastically  received. 

Gen.  Lee  surrendered  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  Va., 
April  9,  1865.  Johnston  surrendered  to  Sherman  near  Dur- 
ham, April  26.  Sherman  had  occupied  Raleigh  April  13,  and 
Fort  Fisher  surrendered  April  15.  President  Davis  and  the 
Confederate  cabinet,  accompanied  by  a  thousand  cavalry,  ar- 
rived in  Charlotte  late  in  the  evening  of  April  15.  Mr. 
Davis  proceeded  to  the  home  of  Mr.  Bates,  at  the  corner  of 
Fourth  and  Tryon  streets,  and  there  made  a  short  talk  to  the 
crowd  which  had  assembled.  Before  entering  the  house,  a 
telegram  was  handed  to^  him,  and  as  he  read  it,  he  exclaimed, 
"Can  this  be  true?  This  is  dreadful.  It  is  horrible.  Can  it 
really  be  true?"  He  then  handed  the  message  tO'  Col.  Wm. 
Johnston,  who  read  it  and  announced  tO'  the  crowd  the  first 
news  which  had  been  received  in  Charlotte  of  the  assassina- 
tion of  President  Lincoln. 

The  Confederate  ofificials  were  hospitably  entertained 
during  their  stay  in  the  city.  The  official  headquar- 
ters were  in  the  building  now  occupied  by  the  Charlotte 
Observer^  and  President  Davis'  private  room  is  now  the 
office  of  the  chief  editor.  The  last  meeting  of  the  cabinet  was 
held  at  the  residence  of  Mr.  William  Phifer.  on  the  morning 
of  April  20,  and  immediately  thereafter  the  cabinet  and  the 
cavalry  departed  from  Charlotte.  Gov.  Vance  held  a  con- 
sultation with  the  President  in  Charlotte.  April  16.  but  noth- 
ing of  importance  was  accomplished.   A  cast-iron  slab  marks 


s 


? 


14^  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

the  spot  where  the  President  was  standing  when  the  news  of 
Lincohi's  assassination  reached  him.  At  the  close  of  the  war. 
the  Charlotte  hospital,  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Ashby  and 
Rev.  F.  M.  Kennedy,  contained  twelve  hundred  sick  and 
wounded  soldiers. 

July  7,  1863,  the  General  Assembly  ])rovided  for  mobiliz- 
ing a  "Guard  for  Home  Defense."  which  came  to  be  known 
as  the  Home  Guard.  All  able-bodied  men  l^etween  the  ages 
of  18  and  50,  who  were  exempt  from  Confederate  service, 
were  enrolled,  except  a  few  stated  exceptions.  The  whole 
number  in  North  Carolina  was  12,500,  and  each  ccnmty  was 
commanded  by  a  major  if  it  contained  less  than  five  compan- 
ies, and  by  a  lieutenant-colonel  if  it  contained  more  than  that 
number.  Lieutenant-Colonel  T.  H.  Brem  commanded  the 
Guard  in  Mecklenburg,  and  did  much  good  in  protecting  the 
•country  from  marauders,  in  enforcing  the  conscript  law  and 
in  capturing  deserters. 


Authority: — Clark's  Regimental  Histories,  County  Rec- 
ords and  Newspapers. 


CHAPTER   XXIX. 

RECONSTRUCTION.      (1865    to    1875.) 

Mecklenburg  Escaped  the  Worst  Evils  of  Those  Days— Federal 
Officers  and  Troops  in  Charlotte — Editor  Waring  Indicted  for 
Espousing  the  Southern  Cause — Conduct  of  the  Negroes  Com- 
paratively Peaceable — Elections  in  the  County. 

In  June,  1865,  Col.  Willard  Warner,  with  the  i8oth 
Ohio  reg-iment,  took  charge  of  the  city  of  Charlotte,  and 
Capts.  N.  Haight  and  Andrew  Smith  were  appointed  pro- 
vost, marshals.  July  i,  Gov.  Holden  appointed  Dr.  H.  M. 
Pritchard  mayor.  These  summary  changes  of  government 
were  without  even  a  semblance  of  justification,  and  the  good 
spirit  in  which  they  were  received  was  sufficient  evidence  of 
their  uselessness.  A  few  days  later,  Brigadier-General 
Thomas  succeeded  Major-General  Ruger  in  command  of  the 
Twenty-third  corps  of  the  First  division  with  headquarters 
in  Charlotte,  and  he  reviewed  the  troops,  which  numbered 
four  thousand. 

General  Thomas  was  popular  and  preserved  good  order. 
The  sale  of  liquor  was  prohibited,  and  a  request  was  made 
that  all  crimes  should  be  promptly  reported  to  the  military 
authorities.  All  men  doing  business  of  any  kind  were  re- 
quired to  take  the  iron-clad  oath.  This  resulted  in  the  sus- 
pension of  all  industries,  as  no  one  who  had  aided  the  Con- 
federacy could  take  the  oath.  Another  obnoxious  order  was 
that  all  arms  and  ammunition  should  be  surrendered  to  the 
Federal  authorities.  There  was,  of  course,  much  miscella- 
neous stealing  and  petty  misdemeanors,  but  there  was  no 
clash  between  the  citizens  and  soldiers  nor  between  the  citi- 
zens and  the  idle  negroes.  There  was  said  to  be  in  the 
county  a  regular  band  of  thieves,  who  stole  horses,  cows, 
and  anything  else  which  they  could  secure.  The  band  was 
composed  chiefly  of  negroes,  but  was  led  by  white  men. 


144  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

Some  of  the  stealing  was  attributed  to  the  soldiers,  but  not 
proved. 

Col.  Warner,  who  was  afterwards  a  United  States  Sena- 
tor from  Alabama,  was  succeeded  as  commander  of  the  post 
by  Col.  J.  C.  McQuiston  with  the  123d  Indiana  regiment, 
and  in  August  he  was  succeeded  by  Col.  C.  S.  Parrish  who 
issued  an  order  that  no  citizen's  clothing  should  be  given  or 
sold  to  the  Federal  troops.  In  January.  1866,  S.  A.  Harris 
was  elected  mayor  of  Charlotte,  but  he  was  under  the  sujjer- 
vision  of  the  military  commander.  July  4,  1865,  was  ai>- 
propriately  celebrated.  Col.  Packard,  of  the  128th  Indiana 
regiment,  delivered  a  very  proper  address.  Gen.  Thomas 
read  the  Declaration  of  Indef)endence,  and  the  military 
band  played  Yankee  Doodle  and  Dixie. 

In  the  election  in  November.  1865,  the  Democrats,  or 
Conservatives,  carried  Mecklenburg  county  by  a  vote  of 
534  to  353,  and  Charlotte  by  a  vote  of  i"/-;  to  120.  Prof.  A. 
Mclver  and  T.  N.  Alexander  were  elected  delegates  to  the 
constitutional  convention.  Most  of  the  troops  had  been  re- 
moved from  the  city  at  that  time,  and  Capt.  Frank  M.  Hen- 
ton,  with  one  company,  was  in  command  in  December. 
Christmas  day,  Editor  R.  P.  Waring,  of  the  Charlotte 
Daily  Times,  was  arrested  and  taken  to  Raleigh  on  a  charge 
of  treason,  which  consisted  in  ^•igorous  editorial  denuncia- 
tion of  the  "carpet  baggers."  He  was  tried  by  court-martial 
and  was  fined  $300.  The  vote  on  the  constitution,  which 
was  submitted  to  the  people  in  August.  1866,  was  277  to 
114  in  the  county,  and  20  to  51  in  the  city,  in  favor  of  rati- 
fication. In  the  October  following,  \\'orth,  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor,  carried  the  county  by  a  vote  of  334 
to  II. 

Captain  H.  ]\I.  Lazelle  commanded  the  troops  in  Char- 
lotte from  April  to  December  18,  1867,  at  which  time  the 
troops  left  the  city.  On  the  occasion  of  their  departure. 
Mayor  Harris  presented  the  captain  with  a  resolution 
adopted  by  the  board  of  aldermen,  thanking  the  soldiers 
for  good  behavior  and  expressing  regret  at  their  leaving. 


RECONSTRUCTION.  145 

Tlie  captain  acknowledged  the  courteous  act  with  a  pleasant 
note  in  which  he  declared  liis  gratitude  for  the  hospitality 
of  the  people  of  Mecklenburg.  Sergeant  Bates,  of  the 
United  States  army,  on  his  trip  from  Washington  to  Vicks- 
burg  as  a  test  that  he  could  carry  the  national  flag  through 
the  South  without  molestation,  ])assed  through  Charlotte 
March  26,  1868,  and  was  met  by  officials,  escorted  into  the 
city  in  a  procession,  and  cordially  entertained  during  his 
short  visit. 

Negroes  in  the  county  were  generally  idle,  and  it  was  not 
unusual  for  five  hundred  to  congregate  in  the  town.  Out 
of  such  a  condition  arose  many  crimes  of  small  degree,  and 
a  few  of  the  vilest  nature,  but  there  was  no  open  disturbance 
or  disorder.  Hangings  were  unusually  frequent,  but  there 
were  not  more  than  ten  in  the  ten  years  following  the  close 
of  the  war.  Some  criminals  were  summarily  punished,  but 
both  the  hangings  and  lynchings  were  regardless  of  race, 
color  or  previous  condition  of  servitude.  The  Union  League 
was  organized  and  parades  were  common,  but  the  white  peo- 
ple ignored  such  things.  Negroes  manifested  interest  in 
politics  for  a  while,  but  quit  it  when  they  found  they  would 
not  get  the  "forty  acres  and  a  mule."  Two  of  the  three  dele- 
gates to  the  Republican  State  convention  in  1867  were 
negroes.  At  the  subsequent  election,  an  old  colored  man 
came  into  town  to  vote,  but  when  he  was  unable  to  get  any- 
thing for  it,  he  refused  to  vote  at  all,  and  said  he  was  going 
back  home  to  work.  The  Ku-Klux  played  no  part  in  Meck- 
lenburg affairs,  and  though  there  were  a  few  members  in 
this  section,  there  was  not  an  organization  in  the  county. 

For  the  election  of  delegates  to  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion, November.  1867,  the  registration  in  the  county  was 
1,668  whites  and  1,645  blacks;  in  the  city,  566  whites  and 
726  blacks.  Of  the  1,645  blacks  in  the  county,  only  764  were 
listed  for  taxation.  The  vote  was  in  favor  of  a  convention 
by  a  majority  of  1,538,  and  the  Republican  candidates,  E. 
Fullings  and  S.  N.  Stillwell  were  elected  by  a  vote  of  790 
to  520,  which  was  the  only  time  during  the  period  that  the 


146  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

county  went  Republican.  April  16,  1868.  on  the  eve  of 
election,  Major  H.  M.  Lazelle  and  a  company  of  troops  ar- 
rived in  Charlotte  very  unexj^ectedly.  The  election  resulted 
in  a  majority  of  220  against  the  "Canby"  constitution,  and 
in  favor  of  the  I^emocratic  candidates,  J.  W.  Osborne  for  tin- 
Senate  and  R.  D.  Whitley  and  W.  W.  Gricr  for  the  House 
of  Representatives.  The  Legislature,  in  which  the  Meck- 
lenburg representatives  and  their  DemrKratic  friends  were  in 
a  hopeless  minority,  assembled  July  i,  1868,  and  during  the 
session  made  appropriations  amounting  to  $26,970,000. 

In  July,  1868,  Governor  H(jlden,  without  explanation,  ap- 
pointed a  mayor  and  board  of  aldermen  for  Cliarlotte.  E. 
H.  Bissell  was  mayor  during  August,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  Pritchard  and  he  by  Bissell  again  December  1.  January 
4,  1869,  Major  C.  Dowd  was  elected  mayor  by  228  majority 
out  of  738  votes.  He  held  the  office  for  two  years,  after 
which  John  A.  Young  was  mayor  two  years,  W.  F.  David- 
son succeeding  him  in  1873,  and  being  himself  succeeded  in 
May,  1875,  by  William  Johnston.  There  were,  during  those 
years,  eight  policemen,  of  whom  two  or  three  were  usually 
negroes,  and  several  of  the  twelve  aldermen  were  riegroes. 
In  the  November  election  of  1868,  the  county  went  Demo 
cratic  by  200  majority,  and  Charlotte  was  Republican  by  200 
majority.  The  election  was  peaceable  and  the  negroes  be- 
liaved  well.  A  company  of  troops  was  in  the  city  for  a  few 
days.  Col.  H.  C.  Jones  was  elected  State  Senator  in  Sep- 
tember to  succeed  Hon.  James  \V.  Osborne,  who  died 
August  II. 

Col.  Jones  was  re-elected  to  the  Senate  in  1870.  and  J.  S. 
Reid  and  R.  P.  Waring  were  elected  representatives.  This 
Legislature,  Novem'ber  29,  elected  Vance  to  the  United 
States  Senate,  but  he  was  not  allowed  to  take  the  seat.  Wil- 
liam M.  Shipp,  of  Mecklenburg,  was  at  the  same  election 
chosen  Attorney  General  of  North  Carolina.  Mecklenburg 
voted  against  the  proposed  convention  in  August.  1871.  by 
63  majority.  In  1872,  the  county  and  city  were  Democratic 
by  200  and  100  majority  res^^ectively,  and  in  August.  1873, 


^ 


RECONSTRUCTION.  147 

a  small  majority  was  returned  against  the  constitutional 
amendments.  In  1874,  R.  P.  Waring  was  elected  Senator 
and  J.  S.  Reid  and  J.  E.  Jetton  representatives.  ^ 

This  county  escaped  the  worst  evils  of  those  times.  There  ^^  ^' 
was  some  trouble  with  Judge  Logan  who  was  plainly  incom- 
petent, and  the  lawyers  of  the  9th  judicial  district  met  in 
Charlotte  June  2.  1871,  and  united  in  signing  a  petition  to 
the  Legislature  stating  their  views  clearly.  The  action  was 
approved  by  a  public  mass  meeting  in  the  court  house  on 
the  first  day  of  the  following  January,  but  no  action  was 
taken  and  the  judge  served  out  his  term.  In  September, 
1 87 1,  the  authorities  discovered  a  plot  among  some  trifling 
negroes  to  burn  the  city,  and  seven  negroes  were  arrested 
and  one  convicted.  There  were  many  small  fires  and  one 
large  one  November  17,  1870,  and  another  exactly  one  year 
later,  most  of  them  believed  to  have  been  of  incendiar}^  ori- 
gin. The  last  of  the  Federal  troops  left  Charlotte  in  the 
early  Spxingof  1872.  During  this  whole  period,  there  was 
only  one  disturbance  of  any  consequence,  and  that  occurred 
in  the  afternoon  of  Christmas,  1875.  A  drunken  white  man 
from  the  country  engaged  in  a  quarrel  with  a  large  crowd  of 
negroes  at  the  intersection  of  Trade  and  College  streets. 
Policeman  Joe  Orr  arrested  the  white  man  and  then  the 
negroes  attacked  them  with  stones;  other  whites  interfered 
and  a  general  fight  resulted,  extending  up  Trade  street  to  the 
square,  and  lasting  half  an  hour.  About  thirty  shots  were 
fired,  and  one  negro  was  killed  and  ten  were  wounded,  while 
many  others,  white  and  black,  were  injured  by  rocks  and 
sticks. 

The  campaign  of  1876  closed  the  era  of-  reconstruction.- 
The  color  line -^\^as  sharply  drawn,  and  the  negro  voters  in 
Mecklenburg  were  outnumbered  by  375  majority,  though 
Charlotte  township  was  300  majority  the  other  way.  Z.  B. 
Vance  was  nominated  for  Governor  in  Raleigh  June  14,  and 
was  given  a  hearty  reception  when  he  returned  to  Charlotte 
the  next  day.  He  and  Settle  spoke  in  the  city  September 
21,  to  a  crowd  of  4,000  people,  and  though  it  was  Vance's 


148  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

home,  his  opponent  was  treated  with  all  kindness  and  respect. 
In  November,  Vance  and  the  new  constitution  carried  the 
county  by  a  vote  of  3,428  to  2,588,  and  the  city  by  1,166  to 
1,038.  Dr.  T.  J.  Moore  was  elected  to  the  Senate  and  W.  E. 
Ardrey  and  R.  A.  Shotwell  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 


Authority : — County  Records  and  Newspapers. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

FIRST   DECADE   WITHOUT   SLAVERY.      (1865   to   1875.) 

County  Affairs  in  War  Times— Emancipation  Forced  White  Men  to 
Work— Attention  Diverted  to  New  Things— This  Section  an  In- 
viting Field  for  Investors— Reasons  for  the  Progress  Made. 
Death  of  a  Woman  Who  Remembered  May  20,  1775. 

War  did  not  cause  .the  cessation  of  all  industries  in  Meck- 
lenburg count}-.  Most  of  the  able-bodied  men  were  in  the 
armies,  and  the  people  did  less  trading,  but  the  men  who  re- 
mained at  home  found  plenty  to  do  in  providing  for  the  sol- 
diers in  the  field.  The  families  made  everything  possible  on 
their  farms,  and  not  only  supported  themselves,  but  sent 
quantities  of  clothing  to  the  armies.  There  was  much  suf- 
fering and  poverty,  but  this  immediate  section  fared  better 
than  many  others,  because  it  was  in  good  condition  when 
war  began  and  it  escaped  the  blight  of  invaders.  More  an- 
noyance was  caused  by  the  difficulty  of  procuring  household 
necessities,  such  as  salt  and  sugar,  than  by  the  impossibility 
of  obtaining  luxuries,  for  the  minds  of  all  were  upon  war 
and  bare  existence,  and  every  energy  was  exerted  to  sustain 
life  and  to  encourage  the  brave  troops  who  were  fighting 
against  overwhelming  disadvantages. 

Taxes  in  1863  were  40  cents  on  the  $100  valuation  of 
property  and  $1.20  on  the  poll,  and  this  increased  considera- 
bly during  the  next  two  years;  in  1864,  it  was  $1.20  and 
$3.60  respectively.  The  total  sum  raised  in  the  county  by 
taxation  in  1863,  was  $129,044;  $91,000  was  invested  in 
liquor  and  $40,000  in  cotton  and  woolen  factories.  The 
North  Carolina  powder  mill  was  located  at  Tuckaseege 
Ford,  twelve  miles  from  Charlotte.  This  mill  was  blown 
up  and  five  men  were  killed  by  the  explosion  May  23,  1863, 
and  in  August  of  the  following  year,  three  men  were  killed 
by  another  explosion.     S.  W.  Davis  was  president  and  man- 


150  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

ager  u\  the  proiK-rty.  January  7,  1864,  the  Charlotte  depots 
and  warehouses,  ctMitaining  vast  amounts  of  Confederate 
supplies,  were  completely  destroyed  by  fire  at  a  loss  estimated 
at  ten  million  dollars. 

One  of  the  noticeable  features  of  the  times  was  the  lack  of 
trouble  with  the  slaves.  They  staid  at  their  work  without 
bothering-  about  the  war  which  was  being  waged  with  their 
freedom  as  an  issue.  Slaves  who  sold  for  a  thousand  dol- 
lars in  1861,  were  worth  three  thousand  dollars  in  1864.  and 
the  highest  price  recorded  in  that  year  was  $6,i(X).  There 
were  but  few  sales  after  1864,  as  it  was  apparent  that  the 
end  of  the  war  was  a  question  of  a  few  months.  Deprecia- 
tion of  Confederate  currency  became  so  rapid  that  trade  al- 
most ceased  in  the  last  year  of  the  war.  There  was  no  polit- 
ical strife,  and  Mecklenburg  people  were  inclined  to  palliate 
errors  and  faults  rather  than  to  criticise.  In  the  guberna- 
torial election  of  1864,  the  vote  of  the  county  was  1,690  for 
Wance  and  112  for  Holden.  and  the  city  of  Charlotte  voted 
700  to  I. 

The  effect  of  emancipation  upon  all  phases  of  industrial 
life  was  immediate  and  revolutionary.  The  population  of 
the  county  was  17,374  in  i860,  about  15,000  in  1865,  and 
24,298  in  1870.  Charlotte  contained  a  population  or  1,366 
in  i860,  and  2,212  in  1870.  This  refers  to  the  population  in- 
side the  corporate  limits.  The  ixjpulation  of  the  city,  with 
the  suburbs,  w^as  about  2,000  in  i860,  1,500  in  1865,  and 
5,000  in  1870.  Under  the  system  of  slavery,  the  population 
of  the  county  and  city  did  not  increase  from  1825  to  i860, 
and  wealth  and  prosperity  were  in  the  same  condition.  The 
rapid  increase  in  population  and  wealth  after  the  war  was 
accelerated  by  several  things  in  addition  to  the  revival  of 
interest  in  manufactures  caused  by  the  abolition  of  slavery. 
Charlotte  was  a  central  point  for  a  large  section  of  good  ter- 
ritory, the  railroad  advantages  were  good,  and  the  county 
enjoyed  a  better  condition  of  government  than  those  around 
it.  Hence,  the  people  from  the  more  turbulent  sections 
moved  into  Mecklenburg.   .At  the  close  of  the  war.  the  countv 


FIRST  DECADE   WITHOUT   SLAVERY.  I51 

contained  aljout  four  thousand  white  men  and  nearly  as 
many  negro  men ;  the  whites  were  not  accustomed  to  farm 
work  and  could  not  hire  the  negroes  to  work,  and  the  result 
was  that  the  attention  was  diverted  to  something  else. 

In  June,  1866,  there  were  sixty-six  stores  in  the  county. 
In  the  first  six  months  of  1867,  twelve  stores  and  seventy-five 
other  buildings  were  erected  in  Charlotte,  and  a  thousand 
structures  of  various  kinds  were  built  in  the  city  in  the  five 
years  following  the  war — almost  one  a  day.  New  life  and 
progress  were  at  work  everywhere.  Northern  capitalists 
opened  the  gold  mines,  and  the  money  put  in  circulation 
enlivened  all  branches  of  trade.  In  1867.  three  banks  were 
in  operation — the  First  National,  Dewe}'?  Bank,  and  the 
Bank  of  Charlotte.  To  these  was  added  the  Merchants'  and 
Farmers'  National  Bank  in  1871.  The  Rock  Island 
Woolen  Mill,  which  had  been  established  on  the  Catawba 
in  1847,  "^"^'^^  moved  to  Charlotte  after  the  war,  and  was  said 
to  be  the  greatest  establishment  of  the  kind  in  the  South. 
John  A.  Young  was  president  and  John  Wilkes  was  treas- 
urer, and  the  mill  employed  one  hundred  hands.  January 
15,  1870,  it  was  sold  at  auction  for  a  mortgage,  and  was 
purchased  for  $29,000  by  J.  H.  Wilson. 

Cotton  commanded  high  prices.  In  February,  1868,  it 
sold  for  2^  cents  a  pound,  and  the  first  bale  of  the  season  in 
September,  1869,  brought  35  cents  a  pound.  There  were  a 
number  of  cotton  dealers  in  .the  city,  and  their  trade  of  1868 
in  Charlotte  amounted  to  nearly  twO'  million  dollars.  The 
total  tax  in  that  year  was  30  cents  on  the  $100  and  $1.50  on 
the  poll,  and  the  total  receipts  of  the  county  amounted  to 
$26,749,  which  more  than  paid  the  expenses.  The  county 
debt  was  $82,000.  The  tax  in  1871,  was  $1.16  and  $2. 00  for 
county  and  State  purposes,  and  75  cents  and  $3.00  for  the 
city.  At  this  time,  .there  were  only  six  postofiices  in  the 
county,  and  the  number  was  not  increased  until  1870. 

This  section  was  an  inviting  field  for  those  whose  homes 
had  been  destroyed  and  who  were  seeking  a  favorable  loca- 
tion.    In  the  latter  part  of  1867,  three  generals  (D.  H.  Hill, 


15^  HISTORY  OF  MECKLKXBURG  COUNTY. 

Riifus  Barringer  and  R.  D.  Johnston),  were  citizens  of 
Cliarlotte,  and  besides  them  were  Ex-Governor  Vance,  six 
colonels,  two  lieutenant  colonels,  six  majors,  twenty-four 
captains  and  twenty-six  lieutenants,  all  of  whom  were  active 
in  rebuilding-  the  proi)erties  of  the  country.  Gen.  R.  E.  Lee 
was  in  Charlotte  ]\Iarch  31,  1870,  and  Jefferson  Davis  was 
here  May  25,  1871.    Both  were  cordially  welcomed. 

April  16,  1870,  a  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  court 
house  to  consider  the  question  of  issuing  bonds  to  aid  the 
railroads.  At  the  election  held  May  19,  the  county  voted  to 
subscribe  $200,000  to  the  Atlanta  road  and  $100,000  to  re- 
build the  Statesville  road,  which  had  not  been  in  operation 
since  the  close  of  the  war.  The  Charlotte  Board  of  Trade, 
which  has  been  an  important  factor  in  the  progress  of  the 
county  and  city,  was  organized  July  25,  1870,  with  J.  Y. 
Bryce  as  president.  In  June  of  the  same  year,  Charlotte 
voted  $3,000  to  aid  the  Mecklenburg  Agricultural  Society, 
and  annual  fairs  have  l^een  held  since  that  time  with  more 
or  less  irregularity.  Among  the  business  establishments  then 
in  the  city  were  Wilkes'  Iron  Foundry,  Charlotte  Hotel,  Man- 
sion House  which  became  the  Central  Hotel  in  January, 
1873;  \V.  F.  Cook's  farming  implements  factory,  five  drug 
stores,  marble  works,  three  book  stores,  three  carriage  shops, 
two  harness  makers,  several  wholesale  merchandising  stores, 
one  distillery  and  four  retail  liquor  dealers,  J.  W.  Wads- 
worth's  livery,  and  about  fifty  miscellaneous  stores  and 
shops. 

The  market  house  ^it  the  comer  of  College  and  Trade 
streets  was  completed  and  occupied  in  the  latter  part  of  1871. 
A  new  jail  was  built  in  1874,  at  a  cost  of  $20,398.  Sample  & 
Alexander  were  then  running  a  shoe  factory  in  Charlotte, 
and  D.  R.  Leak  and  J.  Heineman  were  operating  tobacco  fac- 
tories. B.  S.  Guion  and  E.  H.  Woods  established  a  spoke 
and  handle  factory  in  1872;  an  ice  factory  was  in  operation 
in  1874,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year,  a  new  opera  house, 
with  a  seating  capacity  of  one  thousand,  was  completed. 

April  7.   1873.  Mrs.  Catherine  \\'illiam?.  aged  113.  died 


FIRST  DECADE   WITHOL'T   SLAVERY.  1 53 

at  the  residence  of  John  D.  Hunter,  in  Alallard  creek  town- 
ship. She  was  well  and  in  full  possession  of  her  mental 
strength  until  two  weeks  before  her  death.  In  her  youth, 
she  w^as  a  near  neighbor  of  John  AIcKnitt  Alexander,  and 
she  remembered  well  the  events  of  May  20,  1775. 

In  1873,  the  expenses  of  the  county  government  were 
$54,368  and  the  receipts  $60,012.  The  county  debt  was 
$373,530,  and  the  city  debt  was  $45,840.  These  debts  were 
contracted  mainly  in  the  issuance  of  railroad  bonds.  The 
first  passenger  train  from  Charlotte  to  Spartanburg  was  run 
March  31,  1873,  and  the  occasion  was  celebrated,  as  was  also 
the  running  of  the  first  train  to  Greenville  April  28.  Decem- 
ber 15,  1874,  passenger  trains  began  running  between  Wil- 
mingfton  and  Charlotte.  Until  that  time,  a  regular  stage  line 
was  kept  up  between  Charlotte  and  Wadesboro.  Stock  law 
went  into  effect  in  the  city  January  i,  1876. 

At  the  election  August  5,  1874.  there  were  1,540  votes 
cast  in  Charlotte  township  and  4,180  in  the  whole  county, 
and  in  the  municipal  election  in  May,  1875,  there  were  1,157 
votes  cast.  A  local  census  in  February,  1876,  showed  that 
there  were  in  Charlotte  1,730  buildings  and  eight  thousand 
inhabitants.  During  the  last  thirty-fiz'c  years  of  slavery,  the 
county  and  city  made  no  appreciable  advance  in  zvealth  and 
population.  During  the  first  decade  after  emancipation, 
both  zvealth  and  population  donbled  in  the  county  aud 
trebled  in  the  city. 


Authority  : — Same  as  Previous  Chapter. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

INDEPENDENCE  CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  (May  20,  1875.) 

Preparations  and  Committees  for  the  Event — Great  Men  Present. 
— Marshals  Were  Confederate  Generals — Immense  Crowd  in 
Charlotte — The  Proceedings  and  Interesting  Incidents. 

Anniversaries  of  the  Mecklenbttrg  Declaration  of  Inde- 
]iendence  were  reg-ularly  celebrated  in  Charlotte  and  at  other 
places  in  the  county  after  the  war,  and  prejiarations  for  the 
centennial  anniversary  began  nearly  a  year  before  the  event 
occurred.  January  4,  1875.  a  joint  meeting-  of  the  Char- 
lotte board  of  aldermen  and  the  county  commissioners  was 
held  to  take  official  action.  The  public  meeting  held  on  the 
same  day  resulted  in  the  formation  of  an  organization  of 
which  Mayor  W.  F.  Davidson  was  chairman  and  J.  P.  Cald- 
well was  secretary. 

A  general  executive  committee  of  ten  members  was  ap- 
pointed at  a  subsequent  meeting,  and  Dr.  Joseph  Graham 
was  made  chairman.  The  committee  on  orators  included 
Gov.  Z.  B.  Vance,  Hon.  W.  M.  Shipp  and  Gen.  D.  H.  Hill. 
The  other  chairmen  were :  Gen.  J.  A.  Young,  of  the  com- 
mittee on  subscriptions;  J.  H.  Wilson,  on  finance;  W.  J. 
Yates,  on  the  press;  J.  H.  Orr,  on  lire  and  military  com- 
panies; Col.  Thomas  H.  Brem,  on  artillery  and  fire-works; 
and  Col.  H.  C.  Jones,  on  county  afifairs.  In  addition  to 
these  was  one  auxiliary  committee  in  each  township  in  the 
county.  The  committees  met  often  and  discussed  the  situa- 
tion and  perfected  plans  for  the  centennial  day. 

Wednesday,  May  19,  1875,  dawned  bright  and  fair  as  was 
the  day  one  hundred  years  before,  but  the  contrast  betw^een 
the  two  occasions  was  wonderful,  even  though  they  were  so 
close  together  in  patriotism  and  sympathy.  Then  a  few  de- 
termined men  assembled  in  a  little  log  court  house  in  a 
straggling  village  and  se\'ered  the  cord  that  bound  them  to 


INDEPENDENCE  CELEBRATION.  1 55 

their  only  hope  other  than  themselves;  today,  in  a  city  of 
eight  thousand  inhabitants,  with  the  buildings  clothed  in 
flags  and  every  heart  full  to  overflowing  with  patriotic  pride, 
amid  the  booming  of  cannon  and  the  stirring  strains  of 
martial  music,  men,  women  and  children  gathered  from  all 
parts  of  the  re-united  nation  to  do  honor  to  the  men  who 
were  first  tO'  evince  the  courage  of  their  convictions. 

At  noon  a  large  crowd  collected  in  the  square  to  witness 
the  raising  of  the  "stars  and  bars"  to  the  top  of  the  pole 
which  had  been  prepared  for  it.  As  the  emblem  rose  higher 
and  higher  and  began  tO'  flutter  in  the  breeze,  the  Citizens' 
Band,  of  Newbern,  played  "The  Old  North  State,"  and  the 
crowd  joined  in  the  words  of  the  song: 

"  Carolina,  Carolina,  Heaven's  blessing-  attend  her  ; 

"  While  we  live,  we  will  cherish,  protect  and  defend  her." 

Flags  waved  on  all  sides  and  shouts  of  enthusiasm  rent  the 
air. 

Seated  on  the  stand  which  had  been  erected  under  the  flag 
were  Governor  C.  H.  Brogden,  Mayor  William  Johnston 
and  Dr.  Joseph  Graham.  When  the  music  ceased  and  the 
noise  subsided,  Mayor  Johnston  delivered  the  address  of 
w^elcome  in  behalf  of  the  city  of  Charlotte.  He  reviewed 
the  thrilling  scenes  of  the  Revolution  in  which  Mecklen- 
burg was  most  concerned,  regretted  that  no  monument  com- 
memorated the  Declaration,  extended  a  cordial  w^elcome  to 
all,  and  introduced  the  Governor  of  North  Carolina.  Gov- 
ernor Brogden  congratulated  the  people  of  the  county  on 
the  success  of  the  occasion,  mentioned  the  deep  patriotism 
of  Mecklenburg,  the  progress  of  the  State  and  the  county, 
and,  as  Governor,  welcomed  the  visitors.  The  Newbern 
band  then  played  the  "Mecklenburg  Polka,"  which  was  com- 
posed for  the  occasion  and  which  was  highly  complimented. 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  speaking,  the  Raleigh  Light  Artil- 
lery, under  the  command  of  Captain  A.  B.  Stronach,  fired 
thirty-eight  guns,  one  for  each  State  in  the  Union. 

Thursday,  May  20,  was  ushered  in  by  the  firing  at  day- 


156  JIISTDKV   OF    MICCKKHNBIKG   COLNTV. 

break  of  one  hundred  guns  by  the  Raleigh  artillery,  and  the 
Richmond  Howitzers,  commanded  by  Captain  liidgood.  By 
sunrise,  the  streets  were  crowded,  and  from  that  time  until 
midday,  trains  brought  vast  crowds,  and  wagons  and  equi- 
pages of  all  kinds  brought  in  the  people  from  the  country, 
and  by  7  o'clock  the  whole  city  was  packed  with  one  moving 
mass  of  humanity.  The  total  number  present  was  variously 
estimated  at  from  25.CXX)  to  40,cxx),  but  the  conservative  es- 
timate was  about  30,000.  Six  fire  companies  arrived  on  an 
early  train,  and  were  met  by  the  Charlotte  companies  and 
welcomed  by  Captain  J.  C.  Mills. 

At  9  o'clock,  Gen.  W.  R.  Cox,  the  chief  marshal,  began 
to  form  the  procession.  His  aides  were  Gen,  Bryan  Grimes, 
of  Tarboro;  Gen.  Johnson  Hagood,  of  South  Carolina; 
Gen.  Bradley  T.  Johnston,  of  Richmond;  Gen.  Thomas  F. 
Drayton,  of  Charlotte;  Major  Charles  Haigh,  of  Fayette- 
ville ;  Dr.  C.  Mills,  of  Cabarrus  county,  and  Dr.  T.  J.  Moore, 
of  Charlotte.  With  the  marshals  galloping  through  the 
crowded  streets,  the  eager  thousands  shouting  and  singing, 
ladies  leaning  from  windows  and  balconies,  flags  waving 
on  all  sides,  bands  playing  and  cannon  booming,  the  scene 
was  one  to  inspire  every  soul  present  and  to  be  remembered 
until  death.  It  was  nearly  noon  when  the  procession,  in- 
cluding eighteen  fire  companies  and  twelve  military'  compa- 
nies, began  the  march  to  the  fair  ground,  where  the  exer- 
cises were  held. 

The  proceedings  of  the  day  were  opened  by  Ex-Governor 
William  Graham,  who  announced  that  Rev.  A.  W.  Miller, 
D.  D..  would  invoke  the  divine  blessing.  After  the  prayer, 
the  band  played  "The  Old  North  State."  and  then  Gov. 
Graham,  in  a  few  words,  introduced  Major  Seaton  Gales, 
of  Raleigh,  who  read  the  Declaration  adopted  May  20,  1775. 
Hon.  John  Kerr  was  the  next  speaker,  and  he  was  followed 
by  Hon.  John  M.  Bright,  a  member  of  Congress  from  Ten- 
nessee. At  night,  there  was  speaking  from  the  stand  in  In- 
dependence square,  the  orators  being  Judge  Davidson,  of 
Tennessee ;  Gov.  Chamberlain,    of    South    Carolina :    Gov. 


INDEPENDENCE  CELEBRATION.  1 57 

Hendricks,  of  Indiana;  Gov.  Vance;  Ex-Governor  Walker, 
of  Virginia;  Col.  Thomas  Polk,  of  Tennessee;  Generals 
Cox  and  Clingman,  and  Mayor  William  Johnston.  At  the 
conclusion  of  the  speeches,  Mr.  K.  P.  Jones,  of  Greensboro, 
seconded  by  Capt.  Smith,  of  Georgia,  moved  that  the  thanks 
of  the  visitors  be  tendered  tO'  the  people  of  Charlotte  for  the 
kindness  and  hospitality  which  had  been  extended  to  all,  and 
the  motion  was  accepted  with  cheers. 

One  of  the  most  pleasing  incidents  of  the  day  was  the 
cordial  greeting  on  all  sides  to  Gov.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana, 
who  made  a  pleasant  impression  upon  everyone.  Several 
accidents  occurred  in  the  discharge  of  firearms  and  fire- 
works, though  no'  one  was  killed.  Among  those  on  the 
speaker's  stand  was  James  Belk,  of  Union  county,  who  was 
born  February  4,  1765,  and  was  consequently  one  hundred 
and  ten  years  old.  Senator  Merrimon,  Col.  John  H.  Wheeler 
and  many  other  distinguished  men  were  present.  Col. 
^\'heeler  delivered  a  lecture  on  Mecklenburg  history  in  the 
court  house  May  24,  being  introduced  by  Gov.  Vance.  The 
Mecklenburg  Monumental  Association  was  organized  June 
25,  with  Z.  B.  Vance,  president;  Dr.  Joseph  Graham  and  J. 
H.  Wilson,  vice  presidents,  and  T.  W.  Dewey,  secretary  and 
treasurer.  The  Mecklenburg  Historical  Society  was  organ- 
ized May  7,  1875,  with  the  following  officers:  President,  C. 
Dowd;  vice  presidents,  Z.  B.  Vance  and  D.  H.  Hill;  secre- 
taries, T.  J.  Moore  and  W.  W.  Fleming. 


Authority: — Charlotte  Newspapers  of  1875. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

LAST    QUARTER    OF    THE   CENTURY.      (1875    to    1900.) 

Public  Improvements — Public  Buildings — Medical  Society — Law  As- 
sociation— Newspapers — Farms. 

The  history  of  Mecklenburg  and  Charhjtte  during  the  last 
quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  is  chiefly  an  account  of 
the  growth  of  the  manufacturing  industries.  As  manufac- 
tures grew,  agriculture  and  the  trades  were  developed  to  sup- 
ply the  increased  demands,  and  as  the  city  grew,  public 
'buildings  were  erected  and  improvements  m.ade  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  public. 

January  i,  1899,  the  city  purchased  the  water  works  plant 
from  the  Charlotte  Water  Works  Company,  for  $226,000. 
The  plant  was  established  in  1882.  Two  hundred  hydrants 
afiford  protection  from  fire,  and  water  is  supplied  free  to  the 
charitable  institutions.  The  water  is  filtered  by  the  best 
known  mechanical  process,  and  since  the  city  assumed  con- 
trol of  the  management,  the  C(jst  has  been  reduced  one-half. 

Gas  lights  have  been  in  operation  in  Charlotte  since  1857, 
and  electric  lights  were  introduced  in  1887.  Street  cars  were 
running  in  1887,  and  the  electric  power  was  substituted  for 
horse  power  in  1893.  In  1883,  the  Southern  Bell  Telephone 
Company  was  granted  permission  by  the  board  of  aldermen 
to  erect  their  poles  in  the  city,  with  the  provision  that  the 
city  could  place  the  fire  alarm  boxes  on  the  poles.  The  first 
ordinance  prohibiting  the  sale  of  tobacco  on  Sunday  was  en- 
acted August  20,  1877.  The  county  chain  gang  w'as  organ- 
ized in  1868,  the  new  cemetery  was  first  used  in  1867,  the 
sew-erage  system  was  established  in  1881,  and  the  crema- 
tory for  the  disposal  of  city  refuse  was  established  in  1896. 

The  new  city  hall  was  built  in  1891.  It  is  made  of  X'orth 
Carolina  brow^n-stcne  and  granite,  and  cost  $40.cx)0.  The 
county  court  house  was  built  in   1896,  of  terra  cotta  and 


LAST   QUARTER   OF   THE   CENTURY.  1 59 

brick,  at  a  cost  of  $50,000.  The  United  States  Federal 
building,  containing  the  postoffice,  was  erected  in  1891,  at  a 
cost  of  $85,000. 

In  1890,  the  Legislature  chartered  the  Charlotte  Consoli- 
dated Construction  Company,  which  has  come  to  be  known 
as  the  "4  C's."  It  was  organized  with  a  capital  stock  of 
$200,000,  and  with  E.  D.  Latta  as  president  and  J.  L.  Cham- 
bers as  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  company  has  since 
purchased  the  Charlotte  Electric  Company,  Charlotte  Street 
Railway  Company  and  Charlotte  Gas  Light  Company,  and 
the  three  were  combined  under  a  new  charter  as  the  Char- 
lotte Electric  Railway.  Light  and  Power  Company.  The 
"4  C's"  engineered  the  building  of  Dilworth,  and  owns  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  property. 

There  were  nine  physicians  in  Charlotte  at  the  close  of  the 
war.  There  are  now  about  fifty  in  the  county,  among  them 
being  some  of  the  most  prominent  in  the  State.  The  Char- 
lotte Medical  Society  was  organized  under  an  act  of  the 
Legislature  of  January  28,  1897,  with  R.  J.  Brevard  presi- 
dent and  G.  W.  Pressly  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  of- 
ficers now  are  R.  L.  Gibbon  and  J.  C.  Montgomery.  This 
association  has  been  productive  of  much  good,  and  only  phy- 
sicians of  high  standing  are  allowed  to  become  members  of 
it.  The  Charlotte  Medical  Journal  was  begim  in  1892  by 
Dr.  E.  C.  Register  and  Dr.  J.  C.  Montgomery.  The  latter 
withdrew  from  the  management  in  1902,  and  it  has  since 
been  conducted  by  Dr.  Register  alone. 

As  lawyers  devote  more  time  to  public  affairs  than  other 
men,  it  is  but  natural  they  should  be  the  more  widely  known. 
Charlotte  has  for  fifty  years  been  distinguished  and  honored 
by  an  able  bar,  and  the  reputation  increases  with  each  year. 
In  the  ten  years  after  the  war  were  such  men  as  A.  Burwell, 
J.  W.  Osborne,  Jones  &  Johnston,  W.  M.  Shipp,  Vance  & 
Dowd,  J.  H.  Wilson  and  W.  P.  Bynum.  There  are  now 
thirtv-eight  lawyers  in  the  county.  The  Charlotte  Law  As- 
sociation was  chartered  January  13,  1885.  The  librars'  of 
the  association,  in  the  Piedmont  building,  is  one  of  the  best 


l6o  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

to  be  found  in  any  city  of  similar  size,  one  of  the  prominent 
features  of  it  being  the  annual  Supreme  Court  reports  of 
every  State  in  the  Union. 

There  have  been  twenty-five  different  newspapers  and 
])eriodicals  pubhshed  in  Charlotte  since  the  war,  of  which 
only  a  few  survive.  The  Charlotte  Evening  Nezvs  was  es- 
tablished by  W'ade  H.  Harris  in  1888.  and  w^as  continued  by 
him  until  1894,  when  he  was  succeeded  as  editor  and  propri- 
etor by  W.  C.  Dowd.  Dr.  A.  J.  AIcKelway  succeeded  Mr. 
Dowd  as  editor  May  23.  1903.  The  Daily  Carolina  Ob- 
sender  was  established  in  1869  by  Smith.  Watson  &  Co. 
Francis  Justice  was  editor  from  January  to  August,  1870. 
Mr.  Justice  was  followed  by  J.  W.  Wright.  J.  Jones  and 

C.  R.  Jones.  The  latter  conducted  it  until  1883.  The  C liar- 
lot  fe  Chronicle  was  begun  in  1887,  and  in  1892  was  sold  to 

D.  A.  Tompkins  and  J.  P.  Caldwell,  who  changed  the  name 
to  the  Daily  Obscnrr,  and  J.  P.  Caldwell  began  his  duties 
as  editor  February  i.  1892.  The  Chronicle  was  revived  as 
the  Charlotte  Evening  Chro)iicle  May  25.  1903,  with  How- 
ard A.  Banks  as  editor.  The  first  telegraphic  news  service 
received  in  Charlotte  was  by  the  old  Observer  in  March, 
1874.  The  Observer  issues  a  semi-weekly  edition,  and  the 
Xezi's  also  issues  a  semi-\veekly  known  as  the  Times-Demo- 
crat. Besides  these  are  the  Mill  Nezcs,  the  Peoples'  Paper, 
Southern  and  Western  Textile  Excelsior,  Carolina  Medical 
Journal,  Star  of  Zion  by  and  for  colored  people;  Presbyte- 
rian Weekly  Standard,  and  Quarterly,  and  the  publications 
of  the  colleges. 

It  is  noticeable  that  as  Mecklenburg  has  grown  richer  and 
more  populous,  the  farms  have  increased  in  number  and 
decreased  in  size.  The  average  number  of  acres  in  a  farm 
in  the  county  is  seventy-five.  There  is  only  one  which  con- 
tains more  than  a  thousand  acres,  and  64  per  cent,  of  them 
contain  less  than  one  hundred  acres.  There  are  227.995 
acres  of  land,  and  the  4.190  farms  are  occupied  by  1.226 
owners.  290  part  owners.  22  owners  and  tenants,  55  mana- 
gers.  631    cash   paying  tenants   and    1,966   share   tenants. 


TRANSITION  PERIOD:      COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE.  1{ 


TRANSITION  PERIOD:     CITY  HALL,  1888. 


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LAST    QUARTER   OF   THE   CENTURY, 


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Sixty  per  cent,  of  the  farms  are  occupied  by  white  people, 
and  40  per  cent,  by  colored  people.  The  number  of  build- 
ings in  the  county  of  all  kinds,  according  to  the  census  of 
1900,   is  632,922. 


Notes: — Information  Obtained  from  County  and  City 
Records;  Officials  of  the  County,  City,  4  C's,  Medical  and 
Law  Associations ;  City  Code.  Newspaper  Files  and  Census 
Reports. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

THE  CHURCHES  FROM  1860  TO  1903. 

Short  Sketches  of  the  Growth  of  the  Principal  Congregations  of  the 
Leading  Denominations  in  the  City  and  County,  and  of  the 
Other  Religious  Organizations. 

There  are  nearly  two  hundred  churches  in  Mecklenburg 
county,  representing  numerous  creeds  and  denominations, 
and  being  about  evenly  divided  in  number  between  the  white 
and  colored  races.  In  Charlotte  and  the  immediate  vicinity 
are  sixty-four  houses  of  worship,  of  which  twenty-seven  are 
for  colored  people.  In  1868,  there  w^ere  only  seven  churches 
in  the  city — Methodist,  Presbyterian,  Baptist,  Episcopal, 
Lutheran  and  Catholic.  The  growth  and  development  of 
the  various  religious  sects  has  been  in  proportion  to  the 
growth  of  the  city  and  county. 

St.  Peter's  Episcopal  church  was  organized  in  1844,  and 
the  first  building  was  erected  in  the  same  year.  The  present 
church  on  North  Tryon  street  was  built  in  1857,  and  w'as  re- 
built in  1892.  The  property  is  worth  about  $40,000,  and 
St.  Peter's  has  325  communicants.  St.  Mark's,  in  Long 
Creek  township,  was  established  in  1885.  There  are  four 
chapels  in  the  county,  and  the  total  Episcopal  membership  is 
about  450.  St.  Peter's  Hospital,  for  white  people,  was  es- 
tablished January  i,  1876,  and  the  Good  Samaritan  Hospi- 
tal, for  colored  people,  in  1890.  Thompson's  Orphanage 
was  established  in  1887,  has  property  worth  $20,000.  and 
regularly  cares  for  about  seventy  orphans.  St.  Michael's 
colored  Episcopal  church  is  located  on  South  Mint  street, 
and  the  pastor  also  has  supversion  of  St.  Michael's  Training 
and  Industrial  School  for  colored  }>eople. 

The  First  Presbyterian  church  has  occupied  its  present 
site  since  1821.  The  old  building  was  many  times  improved 
and  repaired,  and  in  1892  and  the  following  year,  the  beau- 


FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


TRYON  STREET  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 


the;  churches  from  i860  to  1903.  163 

tiful  edifice  now  in  use  was  erected  at  a  cost  of  $31,000.  Tliis 
church  has  650  members.  The  Second  Presbyterian  church 
was  organized  October  22,  1873,  in  the  old  court  house,  with 
seventeen  members,  and  Dr.  W.  S.  Plumer  was  stated  sup- 
ply for  eighteen  months.  A  building  w^as  erected  on  the 
present  site,  at  a  cost  of  $10,000,  in  1875,  and  the  present 
church  was  built  in  1892,  at  a  cost  of  $58,000,  and  has  1,004 
members. 

Tenth  Avenue  Presbyterian  church,  which  was  formerly 
known  as  Graham  Street  church,  was  organized  with  sixty- 
two  members  March  2,  1890.  The  new  building  was  com- 
pleted and  occupied  in  November,  1902,  and  the  property  is 
worth  $25,000.  The  membership  is  more  than  four  hun- 
dred. 

Westminster  congregation  was  begun  in  the  old  graded 
school  building  in  1896,  by  Dr.  J.  W.  Stagg.  Atherton  Sun- 
day school  was  combined  with  it,  and  in  1897,  the  building 
was  completed  at  a  cost  of  $15,000,  and  the  church  has 
eighty  members.  Most  of  the  bequest  of  Miss  Jennie  E. 
Johnson  to  the  Second  church  was  used  in  building  West- 
minster church.  Besides  these  prominent  churches  in  the 
city,  the  Presbyterians  have  twenty-six  others  in  the  county, 
with  a  total  membership  of  6,600. 

The  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  of  the  Confederacy 
met  in  Charlotte,  May  5,  1864,  and  the  first  meeting  of  the 
Mecklenburg  Presbytery  was  at  Big  Steele  creek  church, 
April  21,  1870.  The  Presbyterian  Standard,  official  organ 
of  the  North  Carolina  Synod,  was  moved  from  Wilmington 
to  Charlotte  in  1898,  and  has  since  been  edited  by  Dr.  A.  J. 
McKelway.  The  Presbyterian  Hospital  is  practically  the 
city  hospital,  and  the  Presbyterians  have  established  a  home 
for  aged  and  helpless  women  and  the  Alexander  Rescue 
Home  for  children. 

In  1873,  the  first  church  of  the  Associate  Reformed 
Presbyterians  was  organized  in  Charlotte.  A  new  build- 
ing, at  the  corner  of  Tryon  and  Third  streets,  was  completed 
in  1890,  at  a  total  cost  of  $20,000.     The  Second  Associate 


164  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG   COUNTY, 

Reformed  Presbyterian  church  was  built  in  1899,  at  a  cost 
of  $6,000.  The  First  has  190  members  and  the  Second  has 
290,  and  there  are  five  other  churches  of  this  denomination 
in  the  county. 

The  First  Baptist  church  in  Charlotte  was  built  in  183.^. 
at  the  corner  of  Third  and  College  streets.  A  better  build- 
ing, which  cost  $1,800,  was  erected  in  1855,  at  the  corner  of 
Seventh  and  Brevard  streets;  and  the  structure  now  occu- 
pied by  the  First  Baptist  church  was  completed  in  1884. 
This  church  has  500  members.  In  1895,  the  Twelfth  Street 
Baptist  church  was  built,  and  it  has  300  members.  There 
are  seventeen  Baptist  churches  in  the'  county. 

Tryon  Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church  is  the  largest 
of  the  nineteen  congregations  of  that  denomination  in  the 
county.  A  building  was  erected  on  Sixth  and  Tryon  streets 
in  1859,  and  it  was  worked  over  after  the  war,  and  was  re- 
built in  1 89 1.  The  property  is  valued  at  $31,000,  and  the 
church  has  650  members.  Trinity  Methodist  Episcopal 
church  was  organized  and  built  in  1896;  has  500  members 
and  property  worth  $40,000.  Brevard  and  Calvary  churches 
have  350  members  each,  and  Hoskins  has  300.  and  the  total 
membership  in  the  county  is  about  4,000,  divided  among 
nineteen  churches. 

St.  Mark's  Lutheran  church  was  organized  in  1859.  The 
first  building  was  at  the  corner  of  Seventh  and  College 
streets,  and  the  present  building  on  North  Tryon  street  was 
built  in  1885,  at  a  cost  of  $18,000,  and  the  church  has  175 
members.  Morning  Star  Lutheran  church,  in  the  south- 
eastern part  of  the  county,  is  the  only  other  of  this  denomi- 
nation in  Mecklenburg.  The  Catholic  church  was  built  in 
1 85 1,  and  the  new  building  in  1893,  and  has  a  membership 
of  500.  The  Jewish  population  have  a  congregation  known 
as  "Shaaray  Israel,"  but  they  have  no  synagogue. 

There  are  about  seventy-five  colored  churches  in  Meck- 
lenburg, nearly  all  of  which  have  been  built  since  the  war. 
The  Zion  Methodist  is  the  leading  colored  denomination, 
having  fifty  churches,  and  issuing  a  religious  paper  from  the 


TRYON  STREET  M.   E.  CHURCH,   SOUTH. 


CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 


THE  CHURCHES  EROM  1860  TO   I903.  165 

Zion  Publishing  House  in  Charlotte.  The  Clinton  Chapel 
of  the  Zion  Methodists  and  the  First  and  Second  Baptist 
churches  (colored)  each  have  300  members. 

The  Charlotte  Ministers'  Conference  was  organized  Octo- 
ber 14,  1 89 1.  The  Young  Woman's  Christian  Association 
was  established  in  1902,  The  Young  Men's  Christian  As- 
sociation, which  has  635  members,  was  organized  November 
II,  1874,  with  sixteen  active  members  and  seven  associate 
members.  The  Association  has  had  only  five  presidents — 
A.  S.  Caldwell,  Rev.  W.  M.  Hunter,  R.  N.  Littlejohn,  W. 
A.  Truslow  and  George  B.  Hanna.  Prof.  Hanna  has  been 
president  since  1880,  except  for  six  months  filled  by  Mr. 
Truslow  in  1885.  Rev.  P.  J.  Carraway,  pastor  of  Try  on 
Street  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  was  active  in  the  work 
of  organization.  The  present  Y.  M.  C.  A.  building,  on  South 
Tryon  street,  was  occupied  in  1888,  and  the  Association 
owns  property  valued  at  $40,000. 


Notes: — The  information  for  this  Chapter  was  obtained 
from  Church  Records,  Printed  Sketches,  Newspapers,  and 
Officials  of  the  Various  Organizations. 


CHAPTi-:K   XXXI \'. 

EDUCATION  FROM  1860  TO  1903. 

Development  of  County  Public  School  System — Charlotte  Graded 
Schools  First  in  the  State — Presbyterian,  Elizabeth,  Davidson 
and  Medical  Colleges — Charlotte  Military  Institute — Biddle  Uni- 
versity and  St.  Michael's  Training  and  Industrial  School. 

During-  the  war,  the  income  from  the  county  school  tax 
was  donated  to  the  use  of  the  soldiers,  but  the  amount  re- 
ceived from  the  State  was  used  for  the  support  of  the  schools. 
In  1863,  Mecklenburg-  public  schools  cost  $3,860.08  There 
were  also  a  number  of  academies  in  the  county  from  i860 
to  1870,  the  most  prominent  ones  being  at  Providence,  Da- 
vidson, Claremont.  and  Steele  creek.  The  North  Carolina 
Educational  Association  convened  in  Charlotte,  X'ovember 
8,  1864,  and  Rev.  R.  Burwell  was  elected  president.  The 
Educational  Association  of  the  Confederate  States  was  in 
session  here  at  the  same  time,  and  Calvin  H.  \\'iley  was 
elected  president.  Rev.  R.  H.  Griffith  and  Armistead  Bur- 
well  taught  a  boys'  school  in  Charlotte  in  1865;  ^'""^1  from 
1867  to  1869.  Rev.  A.  G.  Stacy,  with  a  strong  faculty,  con- 
ducted the  Mecklenburg  Female  College  in  the  Military  In- 
stitute, and  the  school  w-as  well  patronized. 

COUNTY  SCHOOLS. 

In  1870.  the  ])ublic  school  system  of  the  State  was  reor- 
ganized, and  in  that  year  the  schools  of  Mecklenburg  cost 
$5,650.  In  1874.  46  white  schools,  with  1.702  children,  cost 
$5,346.  and  34  colored  schools,  with  1.814  children,  cost 
$2,948.  In  1876.  there  were  102  schools  in  the  county,  and 
the  total  cost  was  $9,914.  In  those  days,  the  schools  were 
governed  by  a  board  of  education,  and  the  teachers  applied 
for  license  to  a  county  examiner.  The  educational  board 
still  exists,  but  the  tendencv  lias  been  to  make  the  examiner 


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EDUCATION  FROM  1860  TO  I903.  1 67 

more  and  more  important,  until  now,  under  the  title  of  super- 
intendent of  education,  he  is  the  real  head  of  the  public 
schools  of  the  county.  In  1873,  many  teachers  taught  two 
or  three  schools  in  one  year,  as  the  terms  continued  only  from 
two  to  five  months.  Teachers  were  paid  $25  or  $30  per 
month;  or  if  the  number  of  pupils  was  small,  one  dollar  for 
each  one  in  attendance. 

There  are  now  141  public  schools  in  the  county,  of  which 
61  are  for  colored  people,  and  the  total  cost  in  1902,  was 
$42,512.55.  There  are  10,869  white  school  children  and 
7,927  colored  children,  and  the  school  terms  range  from  four 
to  eight  months,  with  an  average  of  a  little  more  than  five 
months.  The  census  of  1900  credits  Mecklenburg  with 
10,370  illiterate  persons  who-  are  more  than  ten  years  of 
age.  Of  these,  7,861  are  negroes.  Among  the  teachers 
are  seventeen  male  and  thirty  lady  graduates ;  white  male 
teachers  receive  from  $30.00  to  $50.00  a  month,  with  an 
average  of  $38.00;  the  average  for  white  lady  teachers  is 
$28.00,  and  the  colored  teachers  receive  $20.00  or  $25.00 
a  month.  Ten  schools  have  three  teachers  each,  and 
thirty  have  as  many  as  two  each.  Among  the  best  schools 
in  the  county  outside  of  Charlotte  are  the  Belmont  Graded 
School,  Bain  Academy,  Davidson  Academy.  Matthews  High 
School,  Pineville  High  School,  Newell  Academy,  Zion 
Academy,  Huntersville  Academy  and  the  Atherton  Graded 
School.  s^.'x  ,, 

CHARLOTTE  GRADED  SCHOOLS.  ~       " 

In  the  fall  of  1873,  Rev.  J.  B.  Boone  organized  in  Char- 
lotte the  first  graded  school  in  North  Carolina.  The  first 
session  was  begun  October  21,  in  Miss  Hattie  Moore's  dwell- 
ing house,  in  the  rear  of  the  Episcopal  church,  and  was  con- 
tinued for  eight  months,  with  an  average  daily  attendance  of 
175  and  at  a  total  expense  amounting  to  $2,901.75;  closing 
June  19.  Gen.  Rufus  Barringer,  Major  C.  Dowd  and  Capt. 
John  Wilkes  composed  the  school  board,  and  the  teachers 
were  Misses  M.  H.  Barber,  Hattie  Moore,  S.  C.  Miller,  F. 
A.  Walsh,  and  M.  N.  Lucas,  and  Mrs.  S.  E.  Waring.     Miss 


1 


l68  IIISTORV  OF   MECKLENBURG   COLNTV. 

Moore  was  succeeded  in  March  by  Miss  A,  B.  Carr,  and  she 
in  May  by  Miss  Sue  M.  Johnston.  September  7,  1874,  the 
second  session  was  l:)egun  in  two  houses  on  opposite  sides 
of  Seventh  street,  next  to  the  railroad,  and  was  continued 
for  eight  months  lacking-  one  day,  closing  May  6,  because 
of  lack  of  money.  The  expense  for  the  second  year  was 
$2,674.  and  the  average  attendance  was  225,  the  largest  en- 
rollment in  any  one  month  being  340  in  December.  The 
teachers  were  Misses  Barber,  Walsh,  Lucas,  M.  S.  Griffith, 
Sallie  A.  Bethune.  S.  H.  Miller  and  Mrs.  Waring.  Pupils 
of  the  white  school  were  properly  graded,  as  were  also  the 
pupils  of  the  colored  school,  but  the  two  were  not  in  any  way 
connected. 

When  the  graded  school  was  begun,  $1,700  was  on 
hand,  and  $600  was  received  from  the  Peabody  Fund 
the  first  year  and  $1,000  the  second  year.  Some  vol- 
untary contributions  were  received,  but  there  was  no 
charge  for  tuition,  and  the  only  other  source  of  in- 
come was  the  county  school  fund.  The  apparent  lack  of 
funds  and  public  approval  of  the  work,  aided  by  Mr.  Boone's 
efforts,  served  to  begin  an  agitation  for  a  special  tax.  A 
bill  providing  a  special  charter  and  allowing  a  tax  to  be  lev- 
ied, was  introduced  into  the  General  Assembly  by  Senator  R. 
P.  Waring,  and  was  ratified  March  22,  1875.  Before  it 
should  go  into  effect,  it  was  stipulated  that  a  majority  of 
"those  voting"  should  vote  in  favor  of  it.  Several  elections 
were  held  without  securing  a  majority  of  the  registered 
voters,  during  which  time  the  school  was  suspended.  On 
the  first  Monday  in  June,  1880,  the  election  resulted  in  a 
vote  of  815  to  I  in  favor  of  schools.  There  were  1.679 
names  on  the  registration  books,  and  there  had  been  no  new 
registration  for  the  election,  but  before  the  result  was  an- 
nounced, the  aldermen  erased  133  names  and  then  declared 
that  the  necessary  majority  had  been  obtained.  A  tax-payer 
carried  the  matter  into  court,  and  the  aldermen  were  sus- 
tained by  the  low^er  court,  and  finally  by  the  Supreme  Court, 
in  the  Fall  session  of  1881.   The  eight  school  commissioners 


EDUCATION  FROM  1860  TO  I903.  169 

met  June  lo,  1880,  and  org-anized  and  elected  Capt.  Fred 
Nash  treasurer,  which  position  he  held  until  1901. 

The  school  opened  September  11,  1882,  with  480  white 
and  253  colored  pupils — the  white  school  in  the  Military  In- 
stitute building,  and  the  colored  school  in  the  basement  of 
the  colored  Episcopal  church.  T.  J.  Mitchell,  of  Ohio,  was 
superintendent  from  the  opening  until  August  9,  1886, 
when  he  resigned  to  become  president  of  the  Alabama  State 
Normal  School.  J.  T.  Corlew  succeeded  Mr.  Mitchell,  and 
served  until  January  28,  1888.  Alexander  Graham  has 
been  superintendent  since  February  7,  1888.  During  the 
first  session  under  Superintendent  Mitchell,  there  were 
twelve  white  teachers  and  six  colored  teachers,  the  local  tax 
was  ten  cents  on  the  $100  valuation  of  property  and  thirty 
cents  on  the  poll,  and  there  w^ere  five  hundred  white  pupils 
and  three  hundred  colored  pupils.  The  Charlotte  Military 
Institute,  which  was  leased  in  1882,  was  purchased  by  the 
schools  in  1883,  and  the  North  Graded  School  building  was 
erected  in  1900.  A  manual  training  department  was  es- 
tablished in  1 89 1,  and  was  very  successful,  but  was  discon- 
tinued because  of  lack  of  room. 

During  the  session  of  1901-1902,  the  total  enrollment  of 
pupils  was  3,056,  of  whom  1,978  were  white  and  1,078  col- 
ored. The  average  daily  attendance  was  1,456  whites  and 
632  colored.  The  income  from  the  city  tax  of  twenty  cents 
on  the  $100  valuation  and  sixty  cents  on  the  poll,  was  $16,- 
006.12,  and  $11,250.00  was  received  from  the  county, 
making  a  total  of  $27,256.12.  The  white  teachers  were  paid 
$20,806.00,  and  the  colored  teachers  $5,419.00.  The  forty- 
seven  white  teachers  received  salaries  of  $40  or  $50  a  month, 
and  the  sixteen  colored  teachers  were  paid  from  $30  to  $40. 
Miss  Sallie  Bethune  has  been  teaching  in  the  public 
schools  regularly  since  the  opening  day  in  1882,  and  enjoys 
the  distinction  of  having  taught  more  children  to  read  than 
any  other  teacher  in  the  State.  There  are  ten  grades,  and 
departments  of  music  and  drawing,  and  the  schools  continue 
for  nine  months  each  vear. 


170  HISTORY  OF   MlXKLKNBURG  COUNTY. 

PRESBYTERIAN     COLLEGE. 

President  R.  Burwell  continued  the  Charlotte  Female  In- 
stitute during  the  war.  In  1863,  he  had  f(nir  assistants, 
nine  in  1868,  and  eleven  in  1872.  The  school  prospered  un- 
der his  administration,  and  it  was  much  regretted  by  the  pa- 
trons that  in  the  last  year  mentioned  the  president  resigned 
to  assume  the  control  of  Peace  Institute  in  Raleigh.  Rev. 
R.  H.  Chapman,  D.  D.,  was  president  from  1872  to  1875, 
and  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  S.  Taylor  Martin,  of  Virginia, 
who,  with  seven  assistants,  remained  in  charge  until  1878. 
Rev.  W.  R.  Atkinson,  who  had  l^een  teaching  in  Peace  In- 
stitute, assumed  control  in  1878,  and  continued  until  he  re- 
signed to  go  to  Columbia.  The  institution  was  then  closed 
until  Miss  Lily  Long  re-opened  it  as  the  Presbyterian  Col- 
lege in  1895.  In  1896.  the  city  of  Charlotte  released  all 
claim  to  the  property,  and  it  has  since  been  in  control  of  the 
Presbyteries  of  Mecklenburg  and  Concord.  Rev.  James 
R.  Bridges,  D.  D..  has  been  president  since  1898,  and  the 
building  has  been  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  $70,000.  The  college 
has  a  faculty  of  twenty  instructors,  and  during  the  session 
of  1901-1902  enrolled  one  hundred  and  six  in  the  collegiate 
department,  thirty-eight  in  tlie  preparatory  and  forty-three 
in  the  primary.  It  has  also  departments  of  music,  art  and 
elocution. 

MILITARY  IXSTITUTK. 

In  February.  1872,  the  old  Military  Institute  property  was 
sold  to  S.  W.  Saunders,  J.  H.  Carson  and  S.  B.  Alexander. 
October  i,  1873.  Col.  J.  P.  Thomas  was  in  charge  of  the 
school,  and  continued  it  until  he  left  Charlotte  in  1883.  in 
which  year  the  building  was  sold  to  the  city  graded  schools. 
Capt.  W.  A.  Barrier  founded  the  Macon  school  in  1870,  and 
conducted  it  until  he  died  in  November,  1890.  Capt.  J.  G. 
Baird  purchased  the  building  and  E.  L.  Reid  was  principal 
from  1890  to  1 891.  Capt.  Baird  then  assumed  control  of 
the  school  and  has  since  conducted  it,  and  in  1894,  the  name 
was  changed  to  Charlotte  Military  Institute.  The  present 
luiilding  was  occupied  in  1901.  The  school  has  high  school 


EDUCATION  FROM  1860  TO  I903.  I?! 

and  primary  departments,  and  is  highly  considered  for 
efficient  training.  Since  its  beginning  in  1870,  it  has  given 
instruction  to  thirty-five  hundred  boys. 


S:t.  Mary's  Seminary  in  Charlotte  was  established  in  i 
and  is  conducted  by  the  Sisters  of  Mercy,  who  also  conduct 
the  Academy  of  the  Sacred  Heart  near  Belmont. 

MEDICAL  COLLEGE. 

North  Carolina  Medical  College  was  established  by  Dr. 
J.  P.  Munroe  at  Davidson  in  1893,  and  the  property  is  worth 
$10,000.  It  had  four  instructors  and  eleven  students  the  first 
year,  and  in  the  session  of  1902-1903,  there  were  seventeen 
instructors  and  sixty-seven  students.  The  institution  is 
controlled  by  three  directors  known  as  the  board  of  control. 

ELIZABETH   COLLEGE. 

Elizabeth  Female  College  was  established  in  1897  by  the 
United  Synod  of  the  South  of  the  Lutheran  church.  It  is 
beautifully  located  on  a  site  of  twenty  acres,  and  has  prop- 
erty worth  $250,000.  Dr.  C.  B.  King,  as  president,  opened 
the  institution  in  the  Fall  of  1897,  with  sixteen  instructors 
and  ninety-four  students.  In  1903,  there  were  twenty-two 
instructors  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  students.  The 
course  of  instruction  is  thorough  and  complete,  and  the  col- 
lege has  from  its  beginning  been  classed  among  the  best 
female  schools  in  the  country. 


The  school  now  known  as  Biddle  University  (for  colored 
people)  was  established  in  1867,  the  principal  movers  being 
Revs.  S.  C.  Alexander  and  W.  G.  Miller,  and  Mrs.  Mary 
D.  Biddle,  of  Philadelphia  who  gave  $1,400  for  the  building. 
Col.  W.  C.  Myers  donated  the  eight  acres  of  land  on  which 
the  building  is  located,  and  ten  thousand  dollars  was  receiv- 
ed from  the  Freedmen's  Bureau.  The  school  was  estab- 
lished in  the  present  quarters  in  1869,  during  which  year 
Rev.  S.  Mattoon  was  elected  president,  and  he  served  until 
1884  when  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  W.  A.  Holliday,  who 


1/2  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

was  president  a  short  time,  and  was  followed  by  Re\ .  W.  1"*. 
Johnson.  Rev,  D,  J.  Sanders,  D.  D..  the  present  head  of 
the  institution,  was  elected  in  1891.  Biddle  University  is 
under  the  care  of  the  Northern  Presbyterian  church,  includes 
religious,  literary  and  industrial  instruction  in  the  curricu- 
lum, and  enrolled  two  hundred  and  forty  students  in  the 
session  of  1902- 1903.  The  president  and  teachers  are  col- 
ored people. 


•  St.  Michael's  Training  and  Industrial  School,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Colored  Episcopal  church,  was  established 
in  1 891,  has  property  worth  $7,000,  three  instructors,  and 
regularly  trains  more  than  a  hundred  pupils. 

DAVIDSON    COLLEGE. 

Davidson  College,  under  the  administration  of  Dr.  J. 
L.  Kirkpatrick,  continued  its  sessions  during  the  war.  and  at 
the  close  the  president  and  three  professors  were  faithfully 
performing  their  duties.  Dr.  Kirkpatrick  resigned  in  1866, 
and  the  presidents  since  have  been  Rev.  G.  W.  McPhail,  D. 
D.,  L.  L.  D..  from  1866  to  1871;  Prof.  J.  R.  Blake  (chair- 
man of  the  faculty),  from  1871  to  1877;  Rev.  A.  D.  Hep- 
burn, D.  D.,  L.  L.  D.,  from  1877  to  1885;  Rev.  Luther  Mc- 
Kinnon,  D.  D.,  from  1885  to  1888;  Rev.  J.  B.  Shearer,  D. 
D.,  L.  L.  D.,  from  1888  to  1901 ,  and  Henry  Louis  Smith, 
M.  A.,  Ph.  D.,  from  1901  until  the  present  time.  The  col- 
lege owns  seventeen  buildings,  which  cost,  with  equipment, 
$165,000,  and  the  endowment  fund  amounts  to  $125,000. 
The  scientific  laboratory  is  equal  to  any  in  the  South,  and 
the  course  of  instruction,  faculty  and  students  rank  with 
the  best.  During  the  session  of  1902- 1903,  there  were  eight 
professors,  eight  instructors  and  assistants,  and  225  stu- 
dents. 


Authority: — Catalogues  and  Historical  Sketches  of  the 
Various  Institutions,  Ofificials,  County  and  City  Records, 
and  Charlotte  Newspapers. 


CHAPTER    XXXV. 

MINING,  BANKING  AND  THE  ASSAY  OFFICE.      (1860  to  1903.) 

Use  of  Improved  Mining  Machinery  After  the  War— The  Miners 
and  the  Products— Minerals  Found  in  the  County— Receipts  of 
Gold  and  Silver  at  the  Assay  Office— History  of  the  Office. 
—Charlotte's  Leading  Banking   Institutions. 

At  the  close  of  the  Civil  War,  there  was  only  one  mine  in 
operation  in  Mecklenburg,  and  it  was  the  Rudisill.  The 
United  States  mint  was  seized  by  the  Confederate  authorities 
in  1 86 1,  and  held  by  them  until  1865,  and  for  two  years 
thereafter  it  was  occupied  by  the  Federal  military  authori- 
ties. By  1867,  the  mining  and  banking  interests  of  Meck- 
lenburg were  beginning  to  take  on  new  life.  Investors  and 
speculators  from  all  parts  of  the  world  were  in  this  section 
examining  and  considering  the  various  natural  resources. 
In  that  year  there  were  three  banks  in  Charlotte,  and  the  mint 
was  re-opened  as  an  assay  office  under  the  supervision  of  Dr. 
Isaac  W.  Jones. 

Humphrey  Bissell,  who  was  a  learned  mining  engineer, 
erected  the  first  improved  California  stamp  battery  in  the 
county  in  1866.  The  methods  of  mining  were  many  and 
various.  Forty-eight  different  processes  for  the  treatment 
of  ore  are  known  to  have  been  tried  in  the  county  within  the 
past  fifty  years,  but  only  two  survived  the  test  of  time  (clori- 
nation  and  smelting) ,  though  the  cyanide  treatment  has  en- 
couraged hope  that  ultimately  it  may  be  widely  applicable. 
The  chief  elements  in  the  problem  of  the  extraction  of  the 
precious  metals  from  ore  are  pulverization,  concentration, 
roasting  (or  expelling  the  sulphur  with  incidental  oxidiza- 
tion), and  the  extraction  of  the  gold  and  the  silver. 

There  are  83  mines  in  Mecklenburg  which  have  been 
worked  and  can  again  be  worked.  The  Rudisill,  near  Char- 
lotte, has  a  shaft  400  feet  deep,  and  has  3,500  feet  of  levels. 


174  IIISTUKV   Ol"    M lie K 1. 1; NHL' KG    CULXTV. 

This  mine  has  produced  gold  amounting  to  $2,600,000.  The 
St.  Catherine,  also  near  the  city,  has  a  shaft  450  feet  deep. 
Capp's  mine,  six  miles  west  of  the  city,  has  yielded  $2,300,- 
000.  Capp's,  and  the  Surface  Hill  mine,  twelve  miles  from 
Charlotte,  and  the  Wilson  mine,  are  worked  intermittently. 
The  Wilhelmina,  in  Paw  Creek  township,  is  producing  con- 
siderable gold,  and  is  the  only  mine  in  the  county  operated 
regularly.  The  ore  in  the  county  assays  from  $50  to  $180  a 
ton,  and  some  rich  veins  are  occasionally  struck,  and  nug- 
gets are  not  uncommon. 

Silver  is  found,  but  there  has  been  no  regular  mining  for 
it.  It  is  generally  in  small  quantities  in  the  g<)ld  ore. 
Throughout  the  county  are  quarries  of  red.  white  and  gray 
granite,  sandstone,  slate,  hornblend  and  leopardite,  the  lat- 
ter being  a  black  spotted  granite  found  only  in  Mecklen- 
burg. Iron,  lead,  zinc  and  thirty-three  other  minerals  have 
been  found,  but  not  in  sufficient  quantities  for  practical  pur- 
poses. 

The  mint,  which  is  really  only  an  assay  office,  has  not 
done  any  coinage  since  before  the  war.  The  comparatively 
small  amount  which  would  be  done  can  be  done  at  the  Phil- 
adelphia mint  much  cheaper  than  here.  There  have  Ijeen  six 
assayers  in  charge  since  Dr.  Jones:  Calvin  Cowles,  1869  to 
1885;  R.  P.  Waring,  1885  to  1889;  Stuart  W.  Cramer, 
1889  to  1893;  W.  E.  Ardrey,  1893  to  1897;  W.  S.  Clanton, 
1897  to  1903,  and  D.  Kirby  Pope  in  1903. 

Though  the  assay  office  was  opened  in  the  Summer  of 
1867,  no  work  was  done  until  the  following  March,  and  in 
that  year  the  receipts  were  $4,851.95.  The  total  receipts 
from  the  establishment  of  the  mint  up  to  June  30,  1873, 
were  $5,129,217.28.  In  1873-74,  $8,763  worth  of  gold  and 
silver  was  received;  the  next  year  it  amounted  to  $6,690;  in 
1877  it  was  $10,382;  1878,  $54,345.  From  that  year,  the 
receipts  increased  annually  until  1888,  when  they  amounted 
to  $283,619.  which  is  the  highest  mark  attained.  For  the 
year  ending  June  30.  1902.  the  receipts  were  $267,804;  and 
for  the  last  six  months  of  1902.  152,080.    The  total  receipts 


MINING,  BANKING  AND  THE  ASSAY  OFFICE.  1/5 

at  the  office  up  to  January  i,  1903,  were  $10,163,000.  Of 
this,  $30,455  was  silver,  and  the  yearly  receipt  of  silver  now 
is  from  $1,000  to  $1,500. 

There  is  a  practically  inexhaustible  source  of  wealth  in 
the  mines  of  Mecklenburg  county,  and  it  is  a  cause  for  con- 
gratulation that  new  interest  is  being  taken  in  them.  Capi- 
talists are  investigating  the  situation,  and  the  renewal  of 
the  work  will  result  in  an  increased  circulation  of  money  and 
a  consequent  and  natural  increase  in  wealth  and  prosperity. 
New  banking  institutions  have  been  established  in  Charlotte 
recently,  and  there  is  an  abundance  of  capital  available.  The 
Charlotte  National  Bank  was  organized  February  i,  1897, 
with  a  capital  of  $125,000;  Southern  Loan  and  Savings 
Bank,  July  6,  1901,  with  $25,000  capital;  Southern  States 
Trust  Company,  July  15,  1901,  vvdth  $100,000  which  has 
been  increased  to  $200,000 ;  and  besides  these  are  the  three 
old  banks — theFirst  National,  Commercial  National  and  Mer- 
chants' and  Farmers'  National;  Mechanics  Perpetual  Build- 
ing and  Loan  Association,  Mutual  Building  and  Loan  Asso- 
ciation, and  Charlotte  Building  and.  Loan  Association. 
These  strong  financial  institutions  have  combined  assets  of 
nearly  six  million  dollars,  which  is  double  what  it  was  in 
1890. 


Authority : — Records  of  the  Mint,  Newspapers  and  Bank 
Ofificials. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

ROAD   BUILDING   FROM   1880   TO   1903. 

Influences  Which  Made  Better  Roads  Necessary — Original  Methods 
and  Subsequent  Progress — Cost  of  Roads — Convict  Labor  Satis- 
factory— Lessons  Taught  by  Experience. 

Development  of  manufactures,  and  consequent  increase  of 
wealth  and  population  in  the  city,  necessitated  a  g"reater  trade 
in  country  produce,  and  the  more  frequent  traveling-  between 
country  and  city  soon  emphasized  the  manifest  importance 
of  a  system  of  good  roads.  .  Manufactures  render  good 
roads  necessary,  and  at  the  same  time  make  them  more  feasi- 
ble by  the  increased  income  from  taxes;  and  wherever  and 
whenever  factories  are  established,  the  road  question  imme- 
diately begins  to  command  attention. 

Agitation  for  better  roads  in  Mecklenburg  began  soon 
after  the  war,  and  some  desultory  work  was  done  on  them, 
but  the  movement  which  has  resulted  in  the  present  excellent 
highways  did  not  begin  until  about  1885.  January  26,  1881, 
Gen.  John  A.  Young  and  T.  L.  Vail  appeared  before  the 
board  of  aldermen  in  an  attempt  to  get  the  city  to  aid  the 
county  in  improving  the  public  roads.  June  2,  1885,  Mayor 
William  Johnston  recommended  an  issue  of  bonds,  and  this 
was  the  first  notable  move  in  the  right  direction.  November 
8,  1887,  under  the  administration  of  Alayor  F.  B.  McDowell, 
w4io  had  succeeded  Col.  Johnston  in  May,  the  city  voted  an 
issue  of  $50,000  of  bonds  for  street  improvements. 

The  bonds  were  sold  February  6,  1888,  at  their  par  value, 
and  the  improvement  of  the  city  streets  was  then  begun  in 
earnest.  The  first  plan  adopted  was  to  have  stone  broken  by 
hand,  and  laid  on  the  streets  to  a  depth  of  five  or  six  inches, 
after  having  made  an  equivalent  excavation.  In  this  way. 
about  five  miles  of  streets  were  put  in  fair  condition ;  but 
after  the  issue  of  bonds,  machinery  for  crushing  rock  was 


ROAD  BUILDING  FROM  1880  TO  I903.        1 77 

purchased,  and  the  work  was  thus  made  both  swifter  and 
cheaper.  The  city  now  owns  a  well-equipped  rock-crushing 
plant,  and  the  macadamizing  has  been  continued  by  succes- 
sive administrations,  with  a  constant  improvement  in 
methods. 

As  street  building  in  Charlotte  progressed,  the  authorities 
of  Mecklenburg  county  undertook  the  task  of  improving 
the  highways  outside  the  city.  In  1884,  S.  H.  Hilton,  of 
the  board  of  county  commissioners,  was  appointed  to  take 
charge  of  the  county  road  building.  The  Legislature  au- 
thorized the  county  commissioners  to  put  to  work  on  the 
roads  the  prisoners  of  the  city  or  county  many  of  whom 
were  thereafter  sentenced  to  a  term  "on  the  roads,"  and  to 
levy  a  special  road  tax  of  from  seven  to  twenty  cents  on 
each  $100  worth  of  property.  Mr.  Hilton,  with  three  pris- 
oners and  a  $500  team,  began  work  on  the  Providence  road 
near  the  present  site  of  the  Thompson  Orphanage.  Mud 
was  so  deep  in  the  road  that  one  load  of  stones  would  be 
thrown  in  and  then  the  laborers  would  get  on  the  pile  and 
scatter  other  stones  around,  and  when  the  mud  holes  were 
filled,  the  stones  on  top  were  broken  with  hammers.  Five 
hundred  yards  of  this  kind  of  work  was  done  there,  and  then 
the  force,  which  was  being  increased,  transferred  their  at- 
tention to  others  of  the  worst  roads  in  the  county.  Within 
that  year,  a  crusher  was  purchased  for  $900,  and  as  more 
prisoners  were  sent  out,  and  the  supervisor — by  investiga- 
tions of  similar  work  elsewhere^ — familiarized  himself  with 
the  best  methods,  the  work  improved  in  efficiency  and  prac- 
ticability. When  Mr.  Hilton  left  the  office,  in  1893,  the 
county  road  force  consisted  of  eighty-five  convicts  and  equip- 
ment worth  about  five  thousand  dollars ;  and  thirty  miles  of 
roads  had  been  macadamized.  There  are  now  more  than 
one  hundred  miles  of  macadam  roads  in  Mecklenburg. 

Iv  1897,  the  Legislature  created  the  "Mecklenburg  Road 
and  Convict  Commission,"  which  consisted  of  three  persons, 
and  assumed  the  authority  for  road  construction  hitherto 
held  by  the  county  commissioners.    Two  years  later,  the  old 


178  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

system  was  restored,  and  all  that  the  county  is  now  doing"  in 
building',  reconstructing  and  repairing  streets  and  roads  is 
divided  into  three  departments :  First,  in  the  city  of  Char- 
lotte, under  direction  of  the  mayor,  city  council,  city  en- 
gineer and  sui>ervisor  of  streets;  second,  in  the  county  at 
large,  under  direction  of  the  county  commissioners,  county 
engineer,  and  superintendent  of  convicts;  third,  in  each 
township,  through  its  board  of  trustees,  are  expended  for 
local  work  in  road  repairing  the  proceeds  of  the  road  tax 
raised  within  the  township. 

A  road  outfit  costs  about  $5,000,  and  consists  of  a  steam 
roller,  crusher,  bins,  portable  engine,  road  machine,  and  a 
screen  made  of  boiler  plate  perforated  to  separate  the  crushed 
stones  into  three  sizes.  The  city  of  Charlotte  owns  an  outfit, 
Charlotte  township  owns  one,  and  the  county  owns  two. 
The  first  macadam  roads  built  in  Mecklenburg  cost  from 
$2,700  to  $4,000  a  mile,  according  to  the  amount  and  kind  of 
grading  required.  The  cost  is  now  from  $1,600  to  $2,500  a 
mile.  The  present  county  road  tax  is  eighteen  cents  on  the 
$100,  and  this  raises  twenty  thousand  dollars  a  3'ear,  which 
is  expended  in  building  roads  by  convict  labor.  In  addition, 
each  township  levies  a  tax  ranging  from  seven  cents  to 
fifteen  cents  on  the  $100,  and  the  proceeds  are  expended  by 
the  township  trustees  in  improvements  and  repairs.  The 
county  fund  is  supplemented  by  special  appropriations  by 
the  commissioners  to  the  extent  of  ten  or  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  annually. 

The  question  of  good  roads  is  not  one  of  construction 
alone,  but  of  development  and  maintenance  as  well.  The 
trustees  of  Charlotte  township  find  it  necessary  to  expend 
$330  a  mile  every  five  years  for  repairs.  Three  hundred  and 
fifty  cubic  yards  of  stone,  costing  forty  cents  a  yard,  are  re- 
quired, $140  being  thus  expended  for  stone  alone.  This 
stone  is  purchased  of  the  farmers,  who  thus  get  paid  for 
something  which  would  otherwise  be  worse  than  useless. 
There  is  also  the  cost  of  spiking,  distributing,  rolling,  crush- 
ing, harrowing  and  other  labor.    Careful  observation  teaches 


ROAD  BUILDING  FROM  1880  TO  I903.        I/Q 

that  the  use  of  broad  tires  in  place  of  narrow  ones  would 
reduce  this  expense  to  one-third  of  what  it  now  is. 

Convict  labor  is  regarded  with  great  favor.  The  reports 
show  that  the  cost  of  feeding,  clothing  and  guarding  the 
prisoners  amounts  to  about  twenty-five  cents  a  day  for  each 
one,  which  is  less  than  the  county  would  pay  for  their  board 
in  the  county  jail.  Formerly,  the  roads  were  constructed  by 
rounding  up  the  roadbed,  cutting  drain  ditches  on  each  side, 
excavating  twelve  feet  in  the  middle  to  a  depth  of  nine 
inches,  and  then  filling  in  the  excavated  portion  with  stone 
broken  by  hand.  The  system  has  been  developed  until  not 
only  is  the  stone  crushed  by  steam  power  and  the  processes 
otherwise  improved,  but  the  roads  are  often  re-located  and 
graded,  becoming  practically  new  roads. 

Experience  taught  the  autliorities  that  when  the  roads 
are  dry,  the  clay  bed  is  preferable  to  macadam,  because  of 
the  less  wear  and  jolting  of  vehicles  and  of  the  better  effect 
on  the  feet  of  the  horses.  The  location  of  the  macadam  in 
the  middle  of  the  road  left  either  side  too  narrow  for  vehicles, 
so  the  plan  of  having  the  macadam  on  one  side  was  adopted. 
On  these  roads,  the  macadam  is  used  in  winter,  and  is  saved 
from  the  wear  of  the  summer  traffic,  because  in  summer  the 
clay  bed  is  preferred. 

The  result  of  the  work  here  outlined  is  that  Charlotte  has 
been  lifted  out  of  the  mud  and  made  a  city  of  clean  streets 
and  attractive  appearance ;  the  country  has  been  benefited  by 
the  easier  accessibility  of  markets,  besides  furnishing  pleas- 
ant driveways  for  the  people  of  city  and  county.  All  this 
has  been  accomplished  within  a  few  years,  without  imposing 
any  burdens  upon  the  people  in  a  section  where,  from  the 
earliest  times,  the  roadbeds  w^ere  comparable  to  the  temper- 
ing pits  of  a  brickyard. 


Authority: — County  Records  and  Road  Officials. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

DEVELOPMENT  OF  MANUFACTURES.   (1865  to  1900.) 

Iron  Substituted  for  Wood  in  Machinery  as  a  Result  of  the  Abolition 
of  Cheap  Labor — Necessity  Forces  Improvements — First  Cotton 
Mill  Built  in  1881  and  First  Cotton  Oil  Mill  in  1882— Cotton 
Compresses — Industrial  Progress  Attendant  Upon  Manufactur- 
ing— Situation  in  1900. 

The  end  of  the  Civil  War  left  the  negroes  free,  but  with- 
out any  of  the  habits  or  feelings  of  free  men,  and  the  ac- 
quirement of  them  required  the  slow  process  of  time.  It  soon 
became  difficult  for  farmers  to  secure  enough  negro  work- 
men to  gin  a  crop  of  cotton,  so  demoralized  had  the  freed- 
men  become.  To  them  the  idea  of  freedom  was  absolution 
from  work  and  restraint  of  all  kinds.  This  difficulty  of  ob- 
taining labor  was  augmented  by  the  advent  of  the  system  of 
farming  under  which  the  negroes  rented  small  quantities  of 
land  and  began  farming  on  their  own  account.  Being  una- 
ble to  get  as  much  labor  as  the  old  system  demanded,  the 
planters  began  to  manifest  a  spirit  of  interest  in  the  introduc- 
tion of  mechanical  appliances  tending  to  reduce  the  number 
of  hands  necessary  for  their  work. 

Wooden  cogs  and  wallowers  of  gin  running  gear,  used 
for  transmission  of  power,  and  similar  machinery,  wore  rap- 
idly and  required  frequent  renewal.  When  these  renewals 
were  made  by  labor  which  cost  nothing,  such  machinery  was 
satisfactory,  but  when  the  labor  had  to  be  paid  for  in  money, 
a  demand  immediately  arose  for  cast  bevel  wheels.  This 
application  of  cast-iron  gearing  was  probably  the  first  move 
in  the  direction  of  labor-saving  devices.  Wrought  band  iron 
replaced  ropes  for  binding  the  bales  of  cotton,  both  as  a 
matter  of  economy  and  for  safety  from  fire. 

The  "feeder"  and  the  "condenser"  were  inventions  of 
much  importance;  the  first  was  a  contrivance  into  which  the 


DEVELOPMENT  OF   MANUFACTURES.  l8l 

seed  cotton  could  be  put,  and  which  would,  with  proper  ad- 
justments, feed  the  gin;  the  other  attachment  caught  the  lint 
cotton  between  two  skeleton  wire-cloth  bound  rollers,  and 
•  delivered  it  from  the  gin  in  a  continuous  "bat,"  instead  of 
like  feathers  in  a  gale.  Next  came  a  compact  press  capable 
of  pressing  a  bale  by  the  power  of  two  stout  laborers.  Then 
the  steam  power  began  to  be  used,  and  instead  of  every 
planter  owning  his  own  gin,  the  larger  ones  only  owned  one, 
and  they  ginned  for  the  public.  Following  these  adapta- 
tions were  well-designed  modern  steam  ginneries,  equipped 
with  labor-saving  appliances.  About  1885,  exhaust  suction 
fans  came  into  use,  and  they  made  possible  the  unloading  of 
cotton  direct  from  the  wagon  through  a  pipe  or  flue  into  the 
gin  feeder  or  into  bins  partitioned  off  in  the  gin  house. 

These  changes  may  be  said  to  have  forced  themselves 
upon  the  plantation.  They  were  not  the  result  of  any  exer- 
tions on  the  part  of  the  planter  or  tenant  to  find  better  or 
cheaper  methods,  but  each  feature  was  introduced  as  a  mat- 
ter of  necessity ;  not  as  a  preferable  way,  but  as  the  only  way 
the  crop  could  be  prepared  for  market.  Similar  innovations 
and  improvements  were  being  made  in  all  kinds  of  work. 
The  plantation  tools  of  1870  were  the  wooden  plow  stock 
with  a  small  variety  of  small  iron  plow-shares,  a  weeding 
hoe,  a  scythe  and  a  wagon.  On  the  same  plantation,  ten 
years  later,  could  have  been  seen  modern  reapers,  sulky 
plows,  cotton  planters,  finely  made  harrows  and  like  imple- 
ments. 

For  a  few  years  after  the  war,  when  the  price  of  cotton 
was  so  high  that  anyone  could  live  by  a  small  amount  of 
farming,  the  land  was  cultivated  extensively ;  but  when  the 
cultivation  reached  its  limit,  and  the  price  of  cotton  became 
lower,  the  farmers  and  home  capitalists  realized  that  the 
only  way  their  condition  could  be  bettered  was  by  manufac- 
turing the  raw  product  at  home.  In  1873,  there  were  thirty- 
three  cotton  factories  in  North  Carolina,  with  a  total  capi- 
tal of  $1,130,900,  and  earning  a  profit  of  twelve  per  cent,  on 
the  investment.     September  15,  of  that  year,  a  public  meet- 


l82  HISTORY  OF  M IX K M! X B U RG   COUNTY. 

ing  was  held  in  Charlotte  to  discuss  plans  for  a  mill  here, 
and  committees  were  appointed  to  investigate  and  report. 
March  6,  1874,  another  meeting-  was  held,  and  yet  another  at 
Davidson  College  March  31.  A  company  was  then  formed* 
to  built  a  factory  at  Spring's  Shoals,  on  the  Catawba.  The 
Charlotte  Cotton  Factory  Company  met  in  Charlotte  Sep- 
tember 24,  1874,  and  organized  with  A.  B.  Davidson  presi- 
dent. A.  Macaulay  vice  president,  and  F.  H.  Dewey  secretary 
and  treasurer.  About  the  same  time,  the  owners  of  the  Rock 
Island  woolen  mill  organized  to  convert  it  into  a  cotton  fac- 
tory, with  R.  I.  McDowell  president,  and  A.  S.  Caldwell  sec- 
retary and  treasurer. 

Though  these  movements  did  not  materialize,  the  agita- 
tion consequent  upon  them  did  later  result  in  the  beginning 
of  cotton  manufacturing  in  the  city.  The  Charlotte  cotton 
mill  was  the  first,  and  it  began  operations  in  the  Spring  of 
1881.  It  was  established  by  R.  M.,  J.  E.,  D.  W.  and  J.  M. 
Oates,  with  a  capital  of  $131,500.  Only  spinning  was  done 
in  the  mill  for  ten  years,  and  then  the  weaving  department 
was  added.  In  1896,  there  were  five  cotton  mills  in  Char- 
lotte, and  the  development  since  that  time  has  been  remark- 
able. There  are  now  seventeen  mills  in  Charlotte,  with  a 
combined  capital  of  three  million  dollars,  nearly  three  thou- 
sand looms,  about  125,000  spindles,  6,000  operatives,  and 
a  weekly  pay  roll  of  $30,000.  There  is  also  one  cotton 
mill  at  Davidson,  one  at  Pineville,  one  at  Huntersville,  and 
one  at  Cornelius. 

Cotton  seed,  not  needed  for  planting,  were  formerly  scat- 
tered over  the  fields  for  fertilizer,  but  as  their  value  for  oil 
and  other  purposes  became  known,  oil  mills  were  built.  The 
first  one  in  Charlotte  was  established  in  1882,  and  there  are 
now  two  in  the  city  and  one  at  Davidson  College.  There  are 
also  two  cotton  compresses,  which  together  handle  about 
150,000  bales  annually.  These  compresses  were  originated 
because  of  the  importance  of  having  the  bales  as  small  as 
possible,  especially  for  shipment  across  the  sea.  Two  large 
warehouses  supply  good  services  to  fanners  who  thus  have 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  MANUFACTURES.  183 

an  opportunity  to  secure  cash  advances  on  their  cotton  while 
holding  it  for  higher  prices  by  paying  a  small  rental  fee. 
The  average  cotton  trade  in  Charlotte  amounts  to  about 
$1,200,000  every  year. 

Within  a  radius  of  one  hundred  miles  around  Charlotte 
are  nearly  300  cotton  mills,  operating  more  than  3,000,000 
spindles  and  85,000  looms,  and  having  a  capital  of  $100,- 
000,000,  which  not  only  shows  that  Charlotte  is  a  manufac- 
turing centre,  but  the  remarkable  fact  that  one-half  of  the 
looms  and  spindles  of  the  South  are  zviihin  'one  hundred 
miles  of  this  city.  In  Charlotte  are  companies  which  build 
and  equip  cotton  factories  and  oil  mills,  and  a  number  of 
other  agencies  for  miscellaneous  supplies  and  machinery. 

While  cotton  manufacturing  is  the  chief  industry  of 
Mecklenburg  county,  other  manufactures  have  developed 
along  with  it,  and  represent  forty  per  cent,  of  the  total  man- 
ufacturing capital.  The  Mecklenburg  Iron  Works  and  the 
Liddell  Company  are  the  oldest  establishments  in  the  county. 
There  are  three  other  machine  shops  and  foundries,  five 
clothing  factories,  and  a  fertilizer  factory,  and  almost  every 
other  kind  of  manufacturing  plant  on  a  more  or  less  exten- 
sive scale.  More  than  half  the  manufacturing  capital  of  the 
county  is  invested  in  cotton  factories,  but  the  remaining 
forty  per  cent,  leaves  a  wide  latitude  for  diversified  indus- 
tries. 

Mecklenburg  county  has  181  factories,  with  a  capital  of 
$5,108,591,  and  oi  these  Charlotte  has  112,  with  a  capital  O'f 
$4,112,342.  In  the  county,  according  to  the  census  of  1900, 
were  3,988  wage  earners,  of  whom  2,210  were  men,  1,102 
were  women  and  676  were  children  under  sixteen  years  of 
age;  and  the  average  yearly. earnings  were  $219.  Materials, 
mill  supplies,  freight,  power  and  heat  cost  the  factories  an- 
nually $3,500,000;  wages,  $875,000;  total  cost,  $4,375,000; 
value  of  products,  $5,736,000.  From  these  -figures  it  is 
found  that  the  gross  profit  to  the  county  (not  to  the  manu- 
facturer) from  manufacturing  razi'  material  at  home  is  thirty 
per  cent.,  and  the  annual  profit  on  tJie  capital  invested  is 


184  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

tzcoity-si.v  per  cent.  Mecklenburg,  in  1902,  proditced  28,40/ 
bales  of  cotton,  for  which  the  farmers  received  about  one 
million  dollars.  Manufactured  into  various  products,  it 
zi'ould  be  worth  from  fifteen  to  forty-five  cents  a  pound,  or  a 
total  of  from  two  million  to  six  million  dollars.  Mecklen- 
burg's cotton  factories  increase  the  valu^  of  the  annual  cot- 
ton product  of  the  cotmty  from  one  million  to  tzuo  million 
five  hundred  thousand  dollars. 


Authority : — County  Records.  Newspapers  and  v  officials. 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

MECKLENBURG  AND  CHARLOTTE  IN  1903. 

Population,  Taxable  Real  Estate,  Personal  Property,  Railroads  and 
Banks — Expenses  and  Receipts  of  County  and  City — Social  and 
Business  Organizations — Incorporated  Towns — Farm  Products. 
— New  Buildings. 

The  total  taxable  value  of  real  estate  and  personal  prop- 
erty in  Mecklenburg-  county  in  1902  was  $11,717,404,  and  in 
the  city  of  Charlotte  the  value  was  $8,248,660.  Consider- 
ing the  fact  that  Mecklenburg  and  Charlotte  are  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-three  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  years 
old,  respectively,  there  is  nothing  phenomenal  in  this  devel- 
opment. Other  sections  have  grown  more  rapidly,  some 
cities  have  sprung  up  within  a  year,  but  few  have  equaled  the 
record  for  steady,  reliable  and  lasting  growth.  The  county 
and  city  have  ever  been  free  from  everything  akin  to  a 
"boom ;"  genuine  work  and  merit  do  not  depend  upon  excite- 
ment for  recognition.  An  important  rule  of  the  business 
organizations  has  been  the  refusal  to  pay  a  "bonus"  to  get 
any  enterprise  to  enter  the  city.  New  industries  are  wel- 
comed, but  not  subsidized,  and  as  a  result,  everything  which 
comes  into  the  county,  comes  to  stay. 

General  county  expenses  in  1902  amounted  to  $92,542, 
and  city  expenditures  for  general  purposes  amounted  to 
$141,227.  The  county  indebtedness  is  $300,000;  city, 
$515,000.  The  county  buildings,  court  house,  jail,  road 
machinery,  etc.,  are  worth  about  one  hundred  thousand 
dollars.  The  city  owns  the  city  hall,  water  works,  three 
school  buildings,  about  thirty  acres  of  land,  three  town  lots, 
latest  improved  fire  alarm  system,  and  two  fire  departments. 
The  streets  are  macadamized,  and  the  city  owns  and  keeps 
up  a  crematory  for  the  disposal  of  refuse,  and  a  sewerage 
system.    There  are  one  hundred  miles  of  macadam  roads  in 


•N«#' 


l86  IIISTOKV   OF  MKCKl.KXBURG  COUNTY. 

the  county,  forty  of  which  are  in  Charlotte  township.  These 
roads  cost  from  $1,500  to  $4,000  a  mile,  with  an  average 
cost  of  $2,000  a  mile. 

Though  vast  improvements  have  been  made  in  city  and 
county,  the  general  taxes  have  not  increased  to  any  considera- 
ble extent.  County  tax  is  $1,162-3  on  the  $100,  and  a  $3.50 
poll  tax;  the  city  taxes  are  $1  and  $3  respectively.  Taxable 
real  estate  and  personal  proj)erty  in  the  county  increased  in 
valuation  $917,929  between  1900  and  1902  13 18, 121  acres  of 
land  are  valued  at  $3,092,296,  and  4,017  town  lots  at 
$4,293,761.  Six  railroads  enter  the  city,  and  twelve  of  the 
fifteen  townships  of  the  county  have  railroads,  their  total 
valuation  in  the  county  being  $1,369,917.  The  assessments 
are  about  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  true  value. 

A  municipal  census,  January  7,  1901,  ascertained  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  city  to  be  27,752.  The  last  government  census, 
taken  in  1900,  gives  the  population  as  18,091.  The  latter 
is  of  the  city  inside  the  corporate  limits,  while  the  former 
census  is  of  the  suburbs  also.  By  the  1901  census,  the 
population  of  each  ward  was :  First,  5,942 ;  Second,  5,242 ; 
Third,  4,556;  Fourth,  4,162;  total  in  wards,  19,902; 
number  outside  of  wards,  7,850;  grand  total,  27,752.  Of 
these,  11,983  were  colored  people.  The  census  of  1900 
gave  Mecklenburg  a  population  of  55,261.  In  1903.  the 
population  of  the  county  is  about  seventy  thousand,  and  of 
the  city  thirty  thousand. 

The  administration  of  the  city  government  is  vested  in  a 
mayor,  recorder  and  board  of  aldermen,  and  the  city  owns 
and  conducts  the  water  works  and  fire  departments.  There 
is  a  health  department  which  takes  every  possible  precaution 
against  the  spread  of  contagion  and  in  the  interest  of  the 
health  of  the  people.  There  are  in  the  city  three  daily  news- 
papers, two  semi-weekly  papers,  three  weeklies,  two  medical 
monthlies,  two  religious  papers,  and  two  college  annuals, 
and  there  are  five  job  printing  establisments. 

Xearlv  all  the  well  known  fraternal  and  benevolent  socie- 


GRAPES. 


MECKIvENBURG    AND    CHARLOTTE    IN    I903.  187 

ties  are  represented  in  Charlotte.  The  Manufacturers'  Club 
is  the  most  noted,  and  there  are  also'  the  North  State  Club, 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  a  literary  and  library  association,  a 
Scotch-Irish  association,  six  musical  organizations,  a  medi- 
cal society,  a  law  association,  historical  association,  Carnegie 
Library  Association,  country  club,  five  military  organiza- 
tions, composed  of  Hornets'  Nest  Riflemen,  drum  corps  and 
artillery ;  post  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  camp  of 
Confederate  Veterans,  and  fifteen  others. 

There  are  four  incorporated  towns  in  the  county :  Mat- 
thews, with  a  population  of  378;  Davidson,  904;  Hunters- 
ville,  533;  Pineville,  585.  Derita,  Newells  and  Mint  Hill 
are  growing-  unincorporated  towns.  There  are  fifty-nine 
postoffices  in  the  county.  The  general  elevation  of  Mecklen- 
burg is  700  feet  above  sea  level,  and  the  soil  is  well  adapted 
to  successful  farming.  Farmers  average  to  the  acre  thirty 
to  sixty  bushels  of  corn,  twenty  to  fifty  of  wheat,  three  hun- 
dred of  potatoes,  three  to  five  tons  of  hay.  Grapes  thrive 
abundantly,  and  orchards  and  vineyards  are  carefully  cul- 
tivated. 

One  thing  which  attests  continued  growth  and  promises 
a  bright  future,  is  the  building  of  suburban  towns.  Char- 
lotte is  growing  larger  as  it  grows  better  and  richer.  There 
are  several  hotels .  in  the  city,  and  a  number  of  attractive 
public  buildings.  Among  them  are  the  postoffice,  assay 
office,  court  house,  city  hall,  Carnegie  Library,  colleges  and 
graded  schools.  The  street  car  and  lighting  plants  are  as 
good  as  the  best,  and  Latta  Park,  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  the  car  line,  is  a  popular  pleasure  resort.  A  long  distance 
and  two  local  telephone  companies  and  two  telegraph  com- 
panies afford  excellent  service.  One  of  the  established  insti- 
tutions of  the  county  and  city  is  the  Mecklenburg  Fair  Asso- 
ciation, the  annual  exhibits  of  which  are  events  of  inter- 
est. 

The  Carnegie  Library  was  completed  in  the  latter  part  of 
May,  1903,  at  a  cost  of  $40,000,  and  will  be  maincained  by 
the  city  by  an  annual  appropriation  of  $2,500.     The  Vance 


l88  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

Memorial  Association  of  Charlotte  was  organized  in  1902, 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  funds  necessary  to  place  a 
monument  of  Vance  in  the  library. 

During  the  past  four  years,  the  outlay  for  new  buildings 
has  averaged  $500,000  a  year,  and  the  average  for  new 
dwelling  houses  has  been  more  than  600  annually.  The  nine 
financial  institutions  represent  a  combined  capital  of  $1,1 01,- 
703;  total  assets,  $5,582,519,  and  have  deposits  amounting 
to  about  three  million  dollars.  Charlotte  wholesale  merch- 
andise establishments  keep  on  the  road  two  hundered  travel- 
ing salesmen.  The  construction  of  macadam  roads,  and  the 
system  of  free  rural  mail  delivery  and  county  telephone  lines, 
connect  the  whole  county  directly  with  the  city,  and  serve  to 
increase  the  value  and  attractiveness  of  the  country  districts. 


Authority: — County  and  City  Records  and  Personal  In- 
vestisrations. 


ANDREW    JACKSON. 


Cabin  Near  Waxhaw,  (Site  now  in  Union,  but  Then  in  Meck- 
lenburg), in  Which  Andrew  Jackson,  Seventh  President  of  the 
United  States.  Was  Born  March  15,  1767. 


CHAPTER   XXXIX. 

MECKLENBURG'S  GREAT  CITIZENS. 

Sketches  of  the  Lives  of  President  Andrew  Jackson,  President  James 
Knox  Polk  and  Senator  Zebulon  Baird  Vance. 

Andrew  Jackson,  seventh  President  of  the  United  States, 
was  born  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Mecklenburg  county, 
March  15,  1767.  The  ruins  of  the  cabin  are  yet  to  be  seen 
and  are  about  six  miles  south  of  Waxhaw  and  five  hundred 
yards  from  the  South  Carolina  line,  in  what  is  now  Union 
county.  There,  in  the  home  of  George  McKemey,  whose 
wife  was  a  sister  of  Jackson's  mother,  the  child  was  born. 
His  father,  Andrew  Jackson,  Sr.,  had  died  about  a  month 
before,  and  when  the  boy  was  three  weeks  old,  his  mother 
moved  with  her  three  children  to  the  home  of  James  Craw- 
ford, just  over  the  line  in  South  Carolina.  There  he  lived 
until  the  invasion  by  Cornwallis,  in  1780,  when  his  brother, 
Hugh,  was  killed  at  the  battle  of  Stono.  Andrew  and  his 
brother  Robert,  were  one  day  ordered  by  some  British  sol- 
diers tO'  black  their  boots.  Refusing  to  do  so,  they  were 
severely  injured  by  the  soldiers,  and  were  sent  to  prison  in 
Camden.  They  were  soon  released,  but  Robert  died  from  the 
effect  of  his  wounds,  and  Mrs.  Jackson  died  a  few  days  later. 
Andrew,  left  alone  in  the  world,  spent  the  next  few  years  in 
the  old  Waxhaw  settlement,  and  part  of  his  time  in  Char- 
lotte and  Charleston.  During  this  period,  he  attended  school 
for  a  short  time  and-  acquired  a  rudimentary  education. 
He  was  strong,  healthy,  self-reliant  and  independent. 
Resolving  to  be  a  lawyer,  he  entered  the  office  of  Spruce 
McKay,  in  Salisbury,  and  under  the  instruction  of  McKay, 
who  was  afterwards  a  judge,  and  Colonel  John  Stokes, 
he  was  prepared  for  the  bar.  His  first  practice  was 
in  Randolph  county,  in  the  old  court  house  at  Brown's  Cross 
Roads,  which  is  still  standing.     He  left  there  after  a  year. 


190  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

and  in  1789.  was  appointed  solicitor  of  the  Western  district 
of  North  Carolina,  and  he  located  in  that  section  which 
seven  years  later  was  made  the  State  of  Tennessee.  In 
Nashville,  he  married  Mrs.  Robards,  with  whom  he  lived 
happily  until  her  death  in  1828.  In  1796,  Jackson  was 
elected  to  Congress,  and  the  next  year  he  was  appointed 
to  the  Senate,  but  resigned  a  year  later.  He  was  then 
elected  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  Tennessee,  which 
position  he  resigned  in  1804,  and  retired  to  private  life  until 
the  beginning  of  the  War  of  181 2.  In  that  war  he 
made  a  national  reputation  by  winning  the  battle  of 
New  Orleans,  January  8,  181 5.  He  was  appointed  com- 
mander-in-chief of  the  southern  division  of  the  army,  and, 
in  1 81 7,  he  conducted  to  a  successful  conclusion  the 
Seminole  War  in  Florida,  and  became  Governor  of  the 
new  province.  In  1824,  he  was  a  candidate  for  President, 
and  led  all  the  other  candidates,  but  the  election  was 
thrown  into  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  John  Quincy 
Adams  was  elected.  Jackson  defeated  Adams  in  1828,  and 
he  was  elected  for  the  second  term,  defeating  Henry  Clay 
in  1832.  The  most  important  events  in  his  administration 
were  his  opposition  to  the  idea  of  a  centralized  national  bank 
controlling  all  government  deposits  and  having  the  exclusive 
right  of  issuing  national  bank  notes,  and  to  nullification.  In 
all  things  and  at  all  times,  he  was  firm  almost  to  severity, 
persevering  and  persistent.  He  retired  to  "The  Hermitage" 
in  the  Spring  of  1837,  and  died  there  June  8.  1845. 

POLK. 

James  Knox  Polk,  eleventh  President  of  the  United 
States,  was  born  eleven  miles  south  of  Charlotte,  near  Little 
Sugar  creek  church,  November  2,  1795.  His  father.  Samuel 
Polk,  who  married  Jane  Knox,  was  a  son  of  Ezekiel  Polk, 
nephew  of  Thomas  Polk  of  revolutionary  fame,  grandson 
of  William  Polk,  and  great-grandson  of  John  Polk,  and 
great-great-grandson  of  Robert  Polk,  who  came  to  this  coun- 
try from  Ireland  in  1735.  In  1806,  the  father  of  the  Presi- 
dent-to-be moved  with  his  family  to  the  southeastern  part  of 


W)' 


JAMES  KNOX   POLK. 


jW-' 


Cabin  Near  Pineville,  Mecklenburg  County,  in  Which  James  Knox 
Polk,  Eleventh  President  of  the  United  States,  Was  Born  No- 
vember 2,  1795. 


ZEBULON    BAIRD    VANCE. 


MECKLENBURG  S    GREAT    CITIZENS.  I9I 

Tennessee.  After  attending  a  grammar  school,  James  Knox 
Polk  was  sent  to  the  University  of  North  Carolina,  from 
which  he  was  graduated  in  1818,  in  the  same  class  with  Rev. 
R.  H.  Morrison,  Bishop  W.  M.  Green,  H.  C.  Jones,  Hugh 
Waddell,  and  William  D.  Mosely  who  was  afterwards  Gov- 
ernor of  Florida.  He  did  not  miss  a  recitation  during  his 
entire  college  course,  and  received  the  highest  honors  of  his 
class.  He  read  law  with  Felix  Grundy,  and  was  licensed 
to  practice  in  1820,  and  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1825, 
remaining  there  for  fourteen  years  and  being  Speaker  from 
1835  to  1838.  In  1839,  he  was  elected  Governor  of  Ten- 
nessee, and  in  1844  was  elected  President.  In  his  accepta- 
tion of  the  nomination  for  President,  he  declared  he  would 
serve  only  one  term,  and  his  administration  was  one  of  glory 
and  prosperity,  being  marked  by  the  war  with  Mexico, 
which  resulted  in  the  annexation  of  Texas.  He  died  in 
Nashville,  June  15,  1849,  ^^d  on  his  tomb  are  inscribed  these 
words : 

"By  his  public  policy  he  defended,  established,  and 
extended  the  boundaries  of  his  country.  He  planted  the 
laws  of  the  American  Union  on  the  shores  of  the  Pacific. 
His  influence  and  his  councils  tended  to  organize  the 
National  Treasury  on  the  principles  of  the  constitution,  and 
to  apply  the  rule  of  Freedom  to  navigation,  trade  and 
industry." 

VANCE. 

Zebulon  Baird  Vance,  grandson  of  Col.  David  Vance 
who  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  was 
born  in  Buncombe  county,  May  13,  1830.  He  was  educated 
at  Washington  College,  Tenn.,  studied  law  at  the  University 
of  North  Carolina,  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  1852,  and  was 
elected  county  attorney  the  same  year.  Possessing  a  mind 
of  comprehensive  ability  and  a  wonderfully  retentive  mem- 
ory, he  met  with  success  in  the  practice  of  law,  but  his  incli- 
nations early  turned  his  attention  to  politics.  In  all  his 
career  he  was  distinguished  for  sterling  honesty,  clean 
methods,  fair  and  open  dealing,  and  a  manly,  generous  and 


192  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

humorous  disposition.  He  was  elected  to  the  State  Legisla- 
ture as  a  Whig-  in  1854,  to  Congress  in  1857  and  in  1859, 
and  at  the  end  of  his  service  in  Congress,  he  entered  the 
Confederate  army  as  a  captain  in  the  Fourteenth  regiment. 
His  gallantry  won  the  admiration  of  the  soldierS;  and  in 
August  of  1 86 1,  he  was  elected  colonel  of  the  Twenty-sixth 
regiment.  In  the  trying  days  in  i860  and  1861,  he  was 
conservative  and  opposed  secession,  but  when  his  State 
seceded,  he  was  among  the  first  to  volunteer  his  services.  In 
August,  1862,  he  was  elected  Governor,  was  re-elected  in 
1864,  and  continued  in  the  offtce  until  the  Federal  forces 
seized  the  government  in  April,  1865.  In  August,  1863, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Harriet  Epsey,  by  whom  he  had 
four  sons.  He  was  in  Charlotte  with  President  Davis,  April 
16,  1865,  and  then  went  to  join  his  family  in  Statesville.  He 
was  arrested  by  Federal  authority  in  May,  and  spent  several 
months  in  the  Old  Capitol  Prison,  in  Washington.  He  was 
released  near  the  end  of  the  year,  and  returned  to  make  his 
home  in  Charlotte,  and  was  active  in  patriotic  work  in  this 
county  for  ten  years.  In  1876,  he  was  nominated  by  the 
Democrats  for  Governor  and  was  elected,  and  January  i. 
1877,  he  took  the  oath  of  office  as  Governor  for  the  third 
time.  In  1878,  he  was  elected  and  assumed  the  duties  of 
United  States  Senator,  which  position  he  held  until  his 
death,  April  14,  1894. 


Notes: — This  chapter  is  founded  upon  information  con- 
tained in  the  popular  biographies  of  the  three  men,  from 
Wheeler's  Reminsicences.  Senator  Ransom's  Eulogy  on 
Vance,  Walkup's  Pamphlet  on  the  Birthplace  of  Jackson, 
and  from  Personal  Investigations  of  the  Birthplace  of  Jack- 
son and  of  Polk. 


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CHAPTER   XL. 

SUMMARY. 

Explanation  of  the  Growth  and  Development  of  Mecklenburg  and 
Charlotte  Under  Diverse  Conditions  in  Different  Periods,  in 
Comparison  With  the  United  States  and  North  Carolina. 

From  the  time  of  the  first  Federal  census,  in  1790,  until 
the  twelfth,  in  1900,  the  population  of  Mecklenburg  county 
increased  from  11,395  tO'  55,268,  being  a  total  of  385  per 
cent.,  and  an  annual  average  of  3.5  per  cent.  During  the 
same  period,  the  yearly  average  for  the  United  States  was 
16.8  per  cent.,  and  for  North  Carolina,  3.4  per  cent.  So 
that  though  the  county  has  not  grown  nearly  so  rapidly  as 
the  nation,  its  average  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the 
State,  and  hence  its  record  fairly  represents  the  result  of 
the  conditions  which  have  existed  in  North  Carolina.  The 
population  of  the  State  and  nation  has  steadily  increased 
every  year,  though  at  times  not  so'  fast  as  at  other  times, 
while  the  population  of  Mecklenburg  has  fluctuated  from  3.2 
per  cent,  decrease  to  3.9  per  cent,  increase.  The  earliest 
census  report  of  the  city  of  Charlotte  was  in  i860,  when 
the  population  was  given  as  1,366.  The  total  increase  from 
then  until  1900  was  1,225  P^^  cent.,  with  an  annual  average 
of  30.6  per  cent.  From  1870  to  1900,  the  increase  in  Char- 
lotte averaged  24  per  cent,  a  year;  in  Mecklenburg,  7  per 
cent;  in  North  Carolina,  2.5  per  cent.,  and  in  the  United 
States,  3  per  cent. 

Previous  to  the  census  of  1 790,  all  sections  of  the  country 
were  being  continuously  developed.  By  that  year,  the  coun- 
try was  well  settled,  and  had  an  organized  and  efficient  gov- 
ernment. In  the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  century, 
Mecklenburg's  population  decreased  from  11,395  to  10,439. 
This  was  caused  by  the  creation  of  Cabarrus,  in  1792,  which 
took  about  4,000  people  from  Mecklenburg,  but  this  number 


194  HISTORY  OF   MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

was  almost  regained  within  the  following  eight  years,  so 
that  in  1800  there  were  only  956  less  than  in  1790. 

By  1800,  the  simultaneous  introduction  of  slavery  and 
cotton  planting  had  been  accomplished.  The  invention  of 
the  cotton  gin,  in  1796,  has  been  recorded  as  the  greatest  of 
all  blessings  to  the  South,  and  ultimately  it  may  be  so,  but 
before  i860  it  was  nearer  anything  else  than  a  blessing. 
It  was  primarily  responsible  for  the  system  of  slavery,  which 
reached  its  limit  in  the  South  Atlantic  States  by  1830,  and 
then  retarded  all  growth  until  it  was  abolished.  Cotton  is 
now  deemed  a  necessity,  and  in  its  manufacture  it  is  the  life 
of  the  South,  but  we  could  probably  have  done  as  well  with- 
out it  until  we  began  to  manufacture  it. 

The  decade  between  1800  and  1810  was  the  most  prosper- 
ous in  the  county  l^efore  the  Civil  War,  the  rate  of  increase 
in  population  Ijeing  2.5  per  cent,  a  year.  This  was  the  result 
of  the  beginning  of  the  cotton  industry,  and  within  that 
short  space  of  time  nearly  all  the  land  in  the  county  was 
divided  into  large  plantations,  and  there  was  no  more  room 
for  growth.  During  the  next  twenty  years,  the'  rate  of 
increase  was  1.9  per  cent,  a  year,  and  in  1830,  population 
began  to  decrease,  and  continued  to  decrease  one  per  cent,  a 
year  until  1840,  and  between  1840  and  1850  the  annual 
decrease  was  3.2  per  cent.  When  the  downward  movement 
began,  it  was  precipitated  by  a  great  emigration  to  the  north- 
west and  southwest,  which  was  attributable  to  the  desire  of 
the  people  either  to  go  where  they  could  have  more  land 
for  the  operation  of  slavery  or  to  escape  the  evils  depend- 
ent upon  it,  which  were  even  then  being  realized. 

The  rapid  fall  between  1840  and  1850  was  caused  by  the 
creation  of  Union  county  in  1842,  which  took  about  5,000 
of  Mecklenburg's  population.  The  extent  of  emigration  is 
shown  by  the  facts  that  between  1830  and  1840,  the  State 
of  Alabama  increased  90  per  cent,  in  population;  Arkansas 
increased  221  per  cent.;  Illinois  increased  202  per  cent.; 
Indiana,  99  per  cent. ;  Louisiana,  63  per  cent. ;  Michigan, 
570  per  cent.,  and  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  175  per  cent. 


SUMMARY.  195 

each.  During  the  same  ten  years,  Virginia  and  South  Caro- 
lina increased  2.3  per  cent,  each,  and  North  CaroHna  only 
2.1  per  cent.,  thus  showing  quite  plainly  from  what  sections 
came  the  settlers  of  the  northwest  and  southwest. 

The  emigration  movement  ended  about  1850,  and  the 
thoughtful  men  at  home,  who'  had  fully  realized  the  futility 
of  cotton  planting  as  a  source  oi  wealth  and  prosperity, 
began  to  turn  their  attention  ,to  other  things.  Public  high- 
ways and  waterways  were  improved,  canals  were  worked 
on,  factories  were  being  planned,  and  the  revival  of  the  long 
dormant  interest  in  important  phases  of  industry  served  to 
turn  the  tide  of  emigration.  In  the  ten  years  before  the  war, 
the  population  increased  from  13,914  to  17,374,  being  an 
annual  increase  of  2.5  per  cent.  Then  came  the  war,  which 
paralyzed  all  progress  for  five  years,  and  left  the  county 
poorer  in  wealth  and  population  in  1865  than  it  was  in  i860. 
The  increase  in  the  State  from  1840  to  i860  was  at  the  rate 
of  15  per  cent,  every  ten  years. 

Immediately  after  the  war  there  was  a  revival  of  indus- 
trial life.  Mecklenburg  was  favored  by  home  seekers, 
because  of  the  settled  and  peaceable  state  of  affairs  pre- 
vailing here,  while  all  around  was  turmoil  and  strife.  Inves- 
tors and  speculators  and  capitalists  considered  it  an  inviting 
field  for  commercial  development  at  first,  and  later  for 
industrial  development.  The  natural  resources,  mines  and 
rich  soil,  and  the  healthfulness  of  the  climate,  were  attrac- 
tive features.  Between  i860  and  1870,  the  population  oi 
the  county  increased  from  17,374  tO'  24,299,  or  39  per  cent., 
while  the  city  population  increased  from  1,366  to  2,212,  or 
62  per  cent.,  and  all  this  increase  was  between  1865  and 
1870,  as  there  was  no  growth  during  the  war.  In  the  same 
decade,  the  population  of  the  United  States  increased  22.6 
per  cent.,  and  of  North  Carolina,  7.9  per  cent.  The  growth 
was  greater  from  1870  to  1880,  being  44  per  cent,  in  the 
county,  32  in  the  city,  30.7  in  the  state,  and  30.1  in  the 
United  States.  This  decade  between  1870  and  1880,  was 
the  most  prosperous  in  the  history  of  the  county,  as  calcu- 


196  HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 

lated  from  the  average  annual  increase  of  population.  This 
growth  was  caused  by  the  complete  change  in  all  phases  of 
life,  as  the  result  of  emancipation,  by  the  stirring  up  of  new 
ideas  and  the  beginning  cf  new  things,  by  Charlotte's  becom- 
ing a  market  for  the  exchange  and  distribution  of  all  kinds 
of  produce  for  wide  territory  which  was  taking  on  new 
life,  and  by  the  interest  manifested  in  gold  mining  in  the 
county  which  put  money  into  circulation  and  built  a  large 
machinery  trade  in  the  city. 

Cotton  manufacturing  was  begun  in  Charlotte  in  1881, 
and  the  first  cotton  oil  mill  was  established  in  1882.  From 
1880  to  1890,  the  increase  in  population  was  24.9  per  cent, 
in  the  United  States,  15.6  in  North  Carolina,  24  in  Meck- 
lenburg and  62  in  Charlotte.  During  this  period  manu- 
facturing became  the  chief  object  of  interest  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  county  and  city.  In  the  following  decade,  from 
1890  to  1900,  the  manufacture  of  cotton  assumed  such  pro- 
portions as  to  be  considered  the  life  of  the  community,  but 
other  manufacturing  plants  were  being  built  and  the  manu- 
factories were  being  diversified.  The  manufacture  of  cloth- 
ing was  developed  to  a  degree  of  considerable  importance,  as 
were  also  the  manufactures  of  cotton  oil  and  machinery. 
The  population  increased  in  this  time  20.7  per  cent,  in  the 
nation,  17.1  in  the  State,  29  in  the  county  and  56  in  rhe  city. 

It  is  not  difficult  to  comprehend  the  causes  actuating  the 
variability  in  the  rate  of  increase  in  the  nation.  State,  county 
and  city.  In  order  that  they  should  be  similiar,  it  would 
be  necessary  that  at  all  times  there  should  be  perfect  uni- 
formity in  the  birth  rate,  death  rate  and  immigration,  which 
condition  is  obviously  inconceivable.  The  increase  in  the 
nation  is  the  balancing  of  the  sundry  conditions  prevailing 
in  the  separate  states,  and  it  has  never  varied  from  the 
average  more  than  one  per  cent,  a  year.  North  Carolina 
has  varied  as  much  as  one  and  one-half  per  cent,  a  year, 
Mecklenburg  county  as  much  as  two  per  cent.,  and  Char- 
lotte as  much  as  thirty  per  cent.  This  is  plainly  accounted 
for  by  the  fact  that  the  conditions  causing  the  abnormal  flue- 


SUMMARY.  •  197 

tuations  affect  only  a  small  section,  and  the  smaller  the  sec- 
tion the  greater  is  the  fluctuation. 

Since  the  first  Federal  census  in  1790,  there  have  been 
three  general  influences  exerted.  From  1790  to  1830  was 
the  period  of  development  in  the  South  under  the  system  of 
slavery,  and  the  increase  during  the  forty  years  averaged 
yearly  7.5  per  cent,  in  the  United  States,  and  2^  per  cent,  in 
North  Carolina  and  in  Mecklenburg  county.  From  1830 
to  i860  was  the  period  of  retarded  growth  attendant  upon 
the  slavery  system  having  reached  the  limit  of  usefulness, 
and  the  average  annual  increase  was  8  per  cent,  in  the  nation, 
I.I  in  the  State  and  less  than  one  per  cent,  in  the  county, 
after  having  allowed  for  the  decrease  caused  by  the  creation 
of  Union  county.  It  is  noticeable  that  during  this  period, 
under  the  domination  of  slavery,  the  nation  prospered  more 
than  during  the  preceding  period,  while  the  growth  of  the 
South  was  barely  perceptible.  When  slavery  attained  to  the 
greatest  possible  production  of  agricultural  products,  the 
North  was  prospering  and  the  South  was  almost  at  a  stand- 
still. The  third  movement  was  the  industrial  expansion 
which  grew  from  the  business  revival  in  the  years  following 
the  war.  Between  1880  and  1900,  the  increase  was  at  the 
rate  of  1.6  per  cent,  a  year  in  the  State,  2.3  in  the  nation,  2.9 
in  the  county  and  5.6  in  the  city.  The  fact  that  during  this 
later  period,  the  city  grew  faster  than  did  the  nation  or 
State  or  county,  is  evidence  of  the  superb  natural  advantages 
of  Charlotte  as  a  center  of  manufacturing  industries,  and 
is  an  encouraging  forecast  of  greater  things  yet  to  come. 


Note: — The  statistics  included  in  this  Chapter  were  ob- 
tained from  the  Census  Reports, 


INDEX. 


Alamance    Page  37 

Alexander,  J.  M 24,  46,  52,  83 

Alexander,   N 2y 

Alexander,    A 29,    31,    33,   46 

Alexander,  M 30,  36,  39,  85 

Alexander,   1 33,  81 

Alexander,    Wm 49 

Alexander,    H 56,   86 

Alexander,  J 77,  81 

Allen    32 

Amusements   ...20,  26,  106,  121 

Appropriations    146 

Archibald    78 

Area    31 

A.  R.   P.   Church 78,  109 

Ashe    29 

Author    vii 

Avery,  W 54,  56,  66,  124 

Baich   47,  48 

Bancroft    5 

Banks    131,   151,   175 

Baptists   107,  109,  164 

Barringer,    20,    21,    29,    132,   152, 
167. 

Barry 29,  32,  64,  89 

Barr .   78 

Bates    145 

Beatcy    89 

Bethel    Regiment    139 

Bethune    168,   169 

Biddle  University 171 

Bissell    146,    173 

"Black  Boys"   39 

BlacKwelder    81 

Board  of  Trade   152 

Bonds   152,  153 

Boone    167 

Booth    48 

Boundaries    35 

Brem   140,  142,  154 

Brevard    47,  80 

Broad  Tires 73 

Brogden    155 

Brownfield    73 

Bryce    138 

Buford    60 

Burke   43 

Burwell    114,   115,   166,   170 

Cabarrus 30,  193 


Cabot    1 

Caldwell.  .72,    93,    107,    110,    132 

Caldwell,   J.   P 154,    160 

Camp  Meeting  110 

Cape  Fear   Mercury 49,   53 

Carlyle    17 

Carter    8 

Carruth    49 

Carraway    165 

Caswell    59,  60 

Catawba    124 

Catawbas    7 

Cathey    27,  85 

Catholics    164 

C.   C.    C.    Co 159 

Celebrations 121,    153,    154 

Cemetery    107,158 

Center    76 

Chain   Gang    158 

Chambers   116 

Charlotte   31,  34 

Charlotte    (Queen) 28 

Charlotte  Grays 3y 

Charleston    19,   22 

Charter    32,   91,   116 

Cherokees   7,  36 

Chesapeake  Bay   1 

Churches 75,  107,  162 

City  Hall    158 

Civil   War 138 

Clark    8,   85 

Claremont   166 

Clear  Creek    77 

Clubs    187 

Coin    27 

Coldwater    7Y 

Colonists    1 

Columbus    1 

Committee    52 

Compress    182 

Confiscation    65 

Convict  Labor    179 

Cornwallis    62 

Cotton,  94,  151,  181,  183,  194,  196 

Cotton  Gins 90,  95 

Cotton  Seed    182 

Courts   65,  91 

Court  House 31,  33,  158 

Cowan's  Ford  64 


200 


HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 


Cox    156 

Craighead    25,    75 

Crematory    158 

Crowfield    73 

Currency    27 

Customs    22 

Dartmouth    49 

Davidson,  John    33 

Davidson,    Wm.,    57,    61.    64,    93, 

115,  116,  154. 
Davidson   College,   73,    115,    116, 

172. 

Davie    59,   61,   66 

Davis    141,  149,   152 

Declaration    46,  49,  50,  57 

Description    30 

Discovery  1,  2 

Distilleries    25 

Dobbs 10,  15,  20,  29,  70,  84 

Doctors    80 

Dowd    46,167 

Dunlap    108 

Dunn    48 

Education    70,  111,  166 

Elections,  91,  118,  119,  134,  135, 

140,  144.  145,  146,  153,  168 

Elevation    187 

Eleventh  Regiment 140 

Elizabeth  College   171 

Emancipation    150 

Emigration,    1,    18,    34,    117,    194 

England    1 

Episcopal    Church    162 

Established  Church   29 

Explosion    187 

Factories    152,    181,    183 

Fairs 121.  152,  187 

Panning 38,  72,  71 

Farms   160,  187 

Federal  Troops 143,  147 

Female   Academy    114 

Female   Institute    114 

Fire  Company   119 

Floyd    29 

Foster    29 

Freedmen's  Bureau    171 

Frohock  31,  36 

Froude    16 

Gas    158 

Gates   58 

Gazette    53 

Germans 15,  19,  75 

Gibbon    132 

Gold    129 

Graham.    G 49 

Graham.  J... 61,  64,  92,  122,  154 
Graded    School    167 


Green    58 

Grier  no,  146 

Guion    152 

Hagler    9 

Hanna   165 

Harris   29,  30 

Harrison  M.  E.  Church,  79,  108 

Hasell   27,  29 

Henry    18,   29 

Hill 136,  139,  140,  151,  154 

Hilton    177 

Historical   Society    157 

Holden    146 

Holmes    95,  98 

Home  Guards 142 

Hooper   44 

Hopewell    76 

Hornets'  Nest 62 

Hornets'   Nest  Rifles...  139,   187 

Hospitals  142,  162,  163 

Hotels   118,   152 

Huguenots    20 

Hunter   34,  46,  110 

Husbands    38 

Hutchins    29 

Immigrants   .  .  .  .  • 15,  84 

Incorporation    32 

Independence   46 

Indians   7 

Industrial    Education,.  .71,    162, 

169,  172. 
Industries.. 22,  68,   97,  118,   123, 

124,   127,   131,   149,   152,   181, 

195. 

Influences 197 

Insurance    119 

Iredell   44 

Ireland    17 

Jack   48,  49 

Jackson   60,  68,  92,  189 

Jefferson    18,   44 

Jews  140,  164 

Jones    140,   146,   154 

Johnston,  114,  138,  146,  152,  155, 

176. 

Justices    29 

Kennedy   80,  142 

Kennon   47,  56 

King's  Mountain  63 

Knox    16,  17 

Ku-Klux    145 

Labor  84,  98,  99,  179 

Land  Grants   16 

Lane   116,  139,  140 

Latta  Park   187 

Law  Association  159 

Lawyers 66,  119,  146,  159 


INDEX. 


20I 


Leavenworth 108,  113,  114 

Lee   139,  140,  141.  152 

Lewis    29 

Lexington    47 

Liberty  Hall  73,  lib 

Libraries    74.  92,   159,  187 

Lincoln    141 

Liquor    25,    97 

Locke    •  •  •  •   60 

Logan   147 

Lutherans    164 

Machinery    180.   183 

Magistrates    29,   120 

Mail    126 

Male  Academy    ilb,  114 

Manufactures 180,  183 

Manufacturers'  Club 187,  196 

Market  House    152 

Martin    (Gov.) 41,  44,  49,  63 

Martin    (Judge)     52 

McAden    16,   75,   76 

McCafferty 24,  33,  68 

McClenahan    29 

McCulloh    6,   31 

McDowell    176,   182 

Mclntyre's     62 

McKelway   160,  163 

McKenzie     93 

McKinney    140 

McRee    78 

McWhorter    73 

Mecklenburg   Created    28 

Medical  College    171 

Medical  Society  159 

Medicine   80,  108 

Methodists    79,   164 

Mexican  War   122 

Military  Districts 54,  65 

Military    56 

Military  Academy,  114,  140,  170 

Miller    29,    140,    156 

Mining   129,  173 

Ministers'  Conference   165 

Mint 129,   173,   174 

Money    67 

Monument  Association 157 

Moore's  Creek    54 

Moravians    6 

Morgan    141 

Morrison.    9,    107,    110,    115,    116 

Muster    27 

Negroes 101,   102,   164,   180 

"New   Lights"    76 

Newspapers   120,    160 

Ninth  Regiment    140 

Gates   108,  182 

Ochiltree    68 


Gglethorpe    80 

Ordinances 119,  158 

Orphanage     162 

Orr   147,  154 

Osborne,  8,  66,  90,  91,  118,  132, 

136,  146. 

Owens    140 

Parliament    17 

Pass    139 

Patterson     33 

Patton    29,  5b 

Persecutions  15,  20 

Pew-renting   '79 

Pharr    HO 

Phifer 29,  31,  73,  115 

Physicians    80,   122,   159 

Plank   Roads    128 

Plantations,    101,    103,    104,    105, 

194. 

Pleasant  Hill   HO 

Politics    132,   146,   150 

Polk,    L 141 

Polk.  T.,  29,  31,  33,  36,  42,  44,  56, 

58,   72. 

Polk,  T.  G "73 

Polk,  J.  K 69,  122,  190 

Poor   65 

Poplar  Tent    76 

Population,    16,    31,    68,   93,    117, 

123,  150.  153,  186.  193. 

Postoffices 68,    93,    187 

Presbyterians    107,   162 

Presbyterian  College   170 

Pritchard    146 

Providence    76 

Public  Buildings.  67,  90,  93,  119, 

159.   185,  187. 

Queen's  College   72 

Queen's  Museum   V3 

Racing    26 

Raft  Swamp  64 

Railroads,  22,  125,  126,  152,  153, 

186. 

Ramsey    29 

Ramsour's  Mill    60 

Reconstruction    143 

Redemptioners    85 

Reese    77 

Register    159 

Regulators    35 

Religion    75 

Resistance    5 

Resolves    49,    52 

Revolution     56 

Rifle  Factory    43 

Riots    35,  147 

Road  Building,  34,  128,  176,  185 


202 


HISTORY  OF  MECKLENBURG  COUNTY. 


Road  Commission   177 

Robinson    29,  115 

Rocky  River   16,  75,  76 

Ross    140 

Rutherford    20,  57,   61,  64 

Sardis    78 

Schools    70,   111,   166 

School  Houses  '.  . .  .113 

Scotch-Irish   15,  18,  75,  76 

Scotland    17 

Scovilites    57 

Secession    132,  134,  136,  13s 

Selectmen    53 

Selwyn    16,   31 

Semmes     141 

Settle    147 

Settlement 1,  15,  22,  97 

Sharon    110 

Sherman    141 

Shipp    146,   154 

Shotwell    148 

Slave   Names    87 

Slavery,  84,  97,  101,  133,  149,  194 

Smallpox    122 

South  Carolina 6.  15,  16,  57 

South   Men    36 

Spaniards    1 

Sparrow    115 

Spratts    31 

Stages   125,  153 

Steele  Creek   76,  78 

Stevenson    53 

Stewart    17 

St.  Mary's  Seminary 171 

St.   Michael's  School 172 

Stock   Law    15'd 

Stocks   90,  119 

Street  Cars    158 

Streets   34,  177 

Stores    22,   151 

Stronach     155 

Sugar  Creek  16,  76,  107 

Summary     193 

Tarleton    60,  62 

Taverns    25 

Taxes,  65,   89,   96,   113,  118,  123, 
134,  149,  151,  186,  187. 


Teachers  70 

Telephones     158 

Temperance    118 

Thomas    ^29" 

Thompson     ,5 

Tompkins    viil 

Towns    187 

Tryon  County  30,  32 

Tryon   (Gov.)    34,  37,  72 

Ulster    17 

Union  County 30,   117,  194 

Union   League    145 

Valley  Forge    58 

Vance 141,  147,  154,  187.  191 

Vespucius    1 

Virginia   2.  15,  29 

Waccamaw    64 

Waddell   13.  36,  38 

Wadsworth    152 

Wahab's    61 

Wallis   78,  110 

Walters    72 

Waring 152,  167 

War  of  l6i2  92 

Warehouses     182 

Washing  Machine  92 

Washington,  18,  43,  49,  58.  59,  69 

Water  Works  158 

Watt's    Hymns    77 

Waxhaws    9,    16.    60,    61 

Wealth,  68,  92,  123,  160,  185,  186 

Western  College   115 

Wheeler   21,  132,  157 

Whipping  Post   90,  119 

Whitney 95,  96,  98 

Wilkes   152,  167 

Williams  139,  152 

Williamson,    ...52,  110,  lU.  116 

Wilmington    64 

Wilson,   58,   64,   72,    87.    lol,   154 

Witchcraft    81 

Women   59,  81,  82 

Yates   139,  154 

Y.  M.  C.  A 165 

Young   146,  154,  176 

Y.  W.  C.  A 165 


'^ 


